Loving My Dead Lover
by ILoveUchuu-jins
Summary: Ghosts had always been my worst fear. But when I saw him, his figure, all I wanted to do was hug him and never let go.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so this is my 3rd story in Maid Sama! :D**

**I want to thank the people who had been with me since my last story. Heck, even my first story!**

**After getting a lot of responses from my fellow readers in 'Gone in a Second' and 'Never Leaving You', I'd decided to make another story! Only this time, it's in the supernatural category.**

**I promise that this story won't be at least a bit scary. (I hate horror, too.)**

**So, without further ado, here's your chapter.**

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><p>Why? Why must he leave so soon?<p>

I was in a cemetery, alone. My hands were furiously wiping the headstone in front of me, as if that could change anything. I wished it could, but of course, even an idiot knew better. Wiping all the mud and grass off from a headstone would not change the fact that Usui was gone.

I was in my black dress – possibly the only dress I owned – sitting on the damp soil. My tears flowing with the rhythm of the rain – yes, it was raining, the perfect weather for such occasion, huh?

"Why?" I sobbed. "Why must you leave so soon, Usui?"

No one else was here. They didn't know that Usui was dead. No one except me and some strangers who witnessed the accident knew that Usui was gone.

I mean, how could they? It's not like I go around and tell everyone about something I refuse to believe in myself.

But it was the truth. Usui was gone for good. And the part that kills me the most was the fact that there was nothing I could do to bring him back.

Nothing.

Not. A. Single. Thing.

I would kill myself if it meant that he would live. I would cut all my veins and make myself fall into a coma if it meant he would rise up from the grave. I would do anything – _anything_ – to bring him back.

But of course, I couldn't.

"Why?" I sobbed again as I leaned on his headstone that read: _Here lies Usui Takumi, beloved brother, son and friend._ "Why?"

The rain, which was originally just water falling from the sky, was soon accompanied by strong wind and thunders. It would've scared me to death, hearing a thunder while I was outside. But all of it didn't matter anymore to me. Let the lightning struck me to death, I don't care. At least I wouldn't suffer with the pain of losing him if I was dead.

"Excuse me, ma'am. A storm is coming, you may not stay here," the graveyard security said behind me.

"Leave me alone," my voice cracked as another flow of tears came rolling down my cheeks.

"Please, ma'am, you may not be here in a storm," he said through gritted teeth. He didn't like going out in the rain, asking girls to leave, that was obvious.

"I'm fine," I said as I sucked in my mucus. "Leave me alone."

"I can't '_leave you alone'_, ma'am. I'm sorry, but you have to leave," he said, his patience running low.

Seeing that he won't leave me alone, I stood up and rubbed my swelling eyes.

"Fine, I'll leave. You happy now?" I asked rudely. I know, I know, I was a bit too cruel to the guy who was clearly just doing his job, but I was pissed with the fact that he couldn't let me stay by my boyfriend's side.

Okay, fine, he was dead. But still, just because he was dead didn't mean I had stopped loving him.

I left the cemetery and walked home. I was soaked, from head to toe. My hair was sticking uncomfortably on my neck. My eyes were so swollen that I could barely open it to see where I was going. And my feet were starting to hurt since I was wearing a new pair of flats Suzuna won to replace my old, broken one.

But worst of it all, there was a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean in my heart. My heart was crushed into a thousand pieces, like how it had always been since the time the doctor pronounced Usui dead a few days ago. I felt as if all the blood in my veins had stopped running, my heart had stopped beating, and my brain had stopped thinking straight.

But of course, I would've been dead if that was true.

No, cross the part where I said my heart was crushed. My _whole body_ was falling into pieces. I don't get it why people call it heartbreak, because it feels to me like my whole body was crumbling down.

Literally, because the next thing I knew, the world tilted sickeningly as my knee banged hard onto the ground and my head slammed down on a puddle on the tarmacked road. My body seemed to freeze as my vision blurred.

"U… sui…." I muttered. I felt a terrible blow of pain shooting through my head.

With a flinch, I went to the state of unconsciousness.

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><p><strong>As usual...<strong>

**Please review! :3**

**Tell me what you think! I'm really new to this kind of writing (you know... All sad and gloomy) so I need someone to tell me how I did.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I just finished my exams - hell yeah! I'm going back to my habit of writing and updating everyday again! But I may not update for days at the 23rd of December until... I don't know, January? I will try my best to update, but with my Japanese cousin coming over and my whole family going on vacation, it's will be hard. She's very hyper and always plays with my hair and clothes and... Basically all parts of me and my things.**

**Maybe I can lock myself in my room and say that I'm doing homework...**

**Well, whatever.**

**Review Replies:**

**behindclosedlipsxoxo: Aww, thanks :) And you're first to review too! Double thanks!**

**JazzyS: Well, okay. The corpses were scary. But Minami isn't that scary. She's just a lunatic, that's all :p**

**Alien: Awwww, thanks. I'll be posting the angst story at Christmas Eve.**

**ChuGaEun: It's not a oneshot, that's for sure.**

**And for the others who took time to review: Thanks! You guys are AWESOME. I'm sorry for not replying to all the reviews, but I just got home from school and I want to sleep. I just had the most tiring day in my whole school history, so if you would excuse me, I need to lie down on something.**

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><p><em>It was a typical Friday night. The full moon above was shining brilliantly, like a light bulb in a dark room.<em>

_I was walking home after a 3-hour shift in Maid Latte with Usui walking peacefully beside me, our hands entwined together. He had waited for me outside of the café just so he could walk me home. A gentleman he really was._

_We were walking in the middle of the road – well, I was anyway – because there were no cars going around at this time of day, while talking about school with me lecturing him on how he should choose his words carefully when rejecting confession. I started skipping around the road – it had been a while since I could skip around without anyone laughing at me like this – and he warned me to be careful and always keep an eye for cars. I told him that he was just overreacting, that I would be okay even if I walked with my eyes closed. He warned me again._

_But it was not the warning that made me stop skipping. It was his voice. There was something in his voice that I couldn't make out. Something that he didn't want me to hear._

_Something I didn't like._

_I did not like it a bit._

_We were starting to drop the topic and continue our school talk when, suddenly, a car came tearing towards us. Well, me, since I was the one who was walking in the middle of the road._

_I saw the round lights located in front of the car and tried to avoid getting hit by the vehicle that was going at 120 kilometers an hour. But my reflexes were too slow._

_I closed my eyes tightly, preparing myself for the pain I was going to suffer when the metal license plate meets my abdomen._

_But I didn't feel it. The pain, I mean. Instead, I felt a pair of hands pushing my shoulders, sending me tumbling down the other side of the road._

_I opened my eyes, wondering if I was dead or alive, and saw the most unpleasant view, which stabbed me on the chest and yanked out my heart, a girl could possibly get._

"USUI!" I shouted while jolting up into a sitting position. My heart was pounding hard against my ribcage. There were tears all over my eyes and down my cheeks. I was soaked in swear. My bed was rumpled and wet and –

Wait, my _bed_? How did I get on my _bed_? The last thing I remembered was me fainting onto the road in the rain. How did I get on my bed?

I looked down. I wasn't wearing my soaked, black dress anymore. Instead, I was wearing a soaked-with-sweat sweatshirt and pants.

But who changed me into my sweats? It couldn't be mom or Suzuna, as they were in Kyushu, visiting Hinata's grandparents to thank them for the vegetables they had been sending us. The only person – aside from me – who had the key to my house that was still in town was Usui.

But he was… Dead.

The thought brought my tears back. I kicked my blanket, brought up my knees, buried my face on them and started bawling my eyes out.

"Why?" I cried. "Why did you push me away and out your life on the line?"

Why had I been so stupid to ignore his warnings? Because it was what all this was. Just a stupid mistake a naive girl made that had cost the life of her boyfriend.

"It's my fault," I muttered. "It's my fault that you died before you even graduated from high school. I've cut your life short. I've keep you away from the bright future that lies ahead. It's all my fault."

"Ayuzawa."

"Why didn't you let me get crushed by that freaking car? Why did you save me? Now look what I need to suffer through!" I screamed while another flow of tears ran down my cheek and dropped on my sweatshirt. "Why…"

"Ayuzawa."

"I hate you! I hate you and your perfect timing! I hate you and your true warnings! I hate you and your worried voice! I hate you and… And…" I voice trailed off as the back of my eyes stung again and piles of tears came running out of my eyes.

I felt a hand on my shoulders. Great. Someone was there. Someone was watching me cry my eyes out. Nice. Let the girl have some time to grief, would you, please?

"Go away," I snapped, not moving my head. "Can't you see I'm –"

I stopped when I remembered that no one except me was in the house.

I slowly lifted my head, fear washing through me while I wonder who the person might be and what he wanted.

To say that I was surprised would be the understatement of the century.

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><p><strong>Please review :D<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hiya! I'm back with another chapter!**

**Today was my last day of school, so once I reached home, I quickly opened my laptop and wrote this! It's longer than the previous chapters, hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>I must had jumped about a mile into the air, I was that startled. I know I sprang from my bed, so fast that I lost balance and fell flat on my backside on the floor. I sat there, my chest heaving, my eyes suddenly bone dry, and stared.<p>

Because standing there on the other side of the bed, looking down worriedly at me, was…

Usui Takumi.

I stared fearfully at him, not quite believing what I was seeing.

But it was true. Usui was standing there, looking at me with his emerald orbs.

He was the same like the day we walked together. He was wearing the same pale blue V-neck T-shirt with a pair of dark jeans. His emerald eyes were still shining and glittering, reflecting the light from the small light stand I left on my table. His hair was like usual, golden and extremely attractive. There wasn't anything different with him except for the fact that he was glowing a little.

Yes, like a glow stick that was snapped.

"U-Usui?" I wiped the tears that were coating my cheeks with the back of my grey sleeve.

"Ayuzawa," he whispered while a sad smile formed on his face.

That was all he said. Just my name.

I continued to stare at him. My mind wasn't registering with what I was seeing. How could a dead guy be here? Unless…

Unless if he was a ghost.

"H-how… I thought you're-" I faltered.

"Yes, I'm dead," he said while looking uncomfortably towards the floor.

"But then… How… Why are you…" I blink back all my tears that had been piling up in my eyes when he said the D word.

"I… am a ghost," he said distastefully. He hated admitting that he was dead and that now he was in the form of a ghost, that was for sure.

This had struck me right in the brain.

I was speaking to a ghost. A freaking _ghost_. The thing that had always been my worst fear. And I was talking to one.

And I wasn't at least a bit scared.

I wasn't crying. I wasn't screaming. I wasn't trembling. I wasn't wetting myself in the pants. I wasn't scared even though there clearly was a ghost in front of me.

And I was talking to him!

No actually, I was more of gaping at him. I stayed silent until he finally walked towards me and kneeled down.

And no, he didn't walk through the bed like what ghosts in movies would do. He circled the bed to get to me.

"Usui…" I looked down at the floor. I gave up blinking back all my tears, there were too much of them to blink back. So I let them roll down my cheek.

I was in shock. I mean, who wouldn't have? My boyfriend was dead. And now he suddenly showed up as a _ghost_.

But if normally I would've jump out of my skin, this time, I didn't. When I saw him, his figure, all I wanted to do was run towards him and hug him.

"Hey," he said softly while cupping my cheeks with both of his hands and lifted it up, so that I was facing him. "Don't cry."

Was he serious? He was dead and he asked me to not cry?

"How can I not?" I cried even more. "You're dead and it's all my fault! If I haven't walked in the middle of the road, ignoring your warnings, you wouldn't have died!"

I broke away from him and scooted backwards.

"Ayuzawa, it's not-" He started.

"Don't even bother denying it, Usui. You know that your death is my fault. And I totally understand if you're going to hate me forever for cutting your life short. You may kill me, if you want. I won't mind. Really, I won't," I assured him while looking down, letting my bangs cover my swelling eyes. I wasn't lying either. I really won't mind if he wanted to kill me then and there.

There was silence for a while.

I looked up at him through my bangs. He was looking down at the floor. He looked like as if someone had punched him in the gut.

"U… sui?" I lifted my head. "A-are you… Okay?"

He didn't say a thing for a while. I almost thought that he fell asleep – if ghosts can sleep, that is – until he broke the silence.

"How can I be okay," he started softly, his voice unsteady, "when my girlfriend is blaming herself for my death?"

My eyes widened in shock. He sounded as if he was going to cry.

_Cry!_

And let me tell you something: crying and Usui don't – and never will – match.

"Because it's the truth-" I started.

"It's _not_ the truth!" He shouted while looking straight at me. Tears were indeed piling on the corners of his eyes. "You didn't kill me. _I_ chose to push you away. _I_ placed my life on the risk. If anyone is to be blamed for my death, it's me."

He was speaking with so much pain in his voice that I couldn't help but bursting to tears again. I dragged up my knees and buried my face on it.

Had he loved me so much that he blamed _himself_ for what _I_ had done? But why? Why did he love me so much when all I could do was cause him troubles?

Usui scooted towards me and sat beside me. He laid a hand on my back and started drawing circles with his palm, trying to calm me down. "Hey," he murmured, his voice not harsh anymore, "I'm sorry I shouted."

I leaned on his chest. I missed him. I missed him a lot. Even though it had only been 2 days since I last saw him alive, but still, I missed him.

I missed the feel of his breath on my cheeks. I missed the way he could calm me down just by smiling. I missed the feel of my head on his well-sculpted chest. I missed the feel his emerald green pools boring into my hazel brown ones.

I missed him, head to toe.

"I'm sorry, Usui," I whispered.

"There's no need for you to be sorry, Ayuzawa. You did nothing wrong," he whispered.

It's really funny, how one second I was crying my eyes out, then the next I was snuggling on my boyfriend's chest.

My… _Dead_ boyfriend's chest.

The thought brought my tears back up. Again. I had lost count on how many times I had been crying and stopping and crying all over again.

"Why are you crying again, Ayuzawa?" He hooked a couple of the strands of my hair that had fallen onto my face and placed it behind my ear. "I told you, it's not your fault."

"I-I know. But still, you're dead. I don't know how you got here, but after tonight, I won't be seeing you anymore. Not even in your ghost form. Because dead people must go to the spiritual plane – or something – right? And not stay here, the universal plane." Don't ask me how my mouth moved so fast. I sounded like a person in a movie that was fast-forwarded 16 times.

"I won't leave you, Ayuzawa," he assured me. "Not now, not ever."

I looked up at him slowly. Seeing how his whole face and hair emitted a faint glow of light. He was staring sadly at my dressing table, as if thinking about something deep and painful.

"Y-you promise?" I asked with a tone I didn't know I had. I sounded like a helpless girl, but whatever.

He looked down at me, his expression turned into a softer, more friendly one. He chuckled a bit and answered, "Yes, I promise. Now better go to sleep so that you will have the energy to go to school tomorrow."

"Right," I muttered bitterly. "School…"

I didn't think I would have the strength to go to school tomorrow. Not after his death. But that was before he materialized in front of me tonight. Before he promised that he wouldn't leave me. Now, I felt as strong as ever.

"Yes, school. You can't leave school just because… I'm dead," he said uncomfortably. "You know, you may sleep on my chest like this if it makes you feel any better."

I felt my cheeks heat up.

"You pervert…" I muttered while cuddling closer to him. "I missed you."

And for the first time since the accident, I smiled.

The smile was still on my face when I closed my eyes and fell into deep slumber on his chest.

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><p><strong>Please take time and review :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Heyy, I just got back from my Student Council meeting out of school (last day of semester 1 ended on Friday). So I just got the chance to upload this chapter now.**

**behindclosedlipsxoxo: I promise you won't be crying in this chapter. Except for the first few paragraphs, maybe.**

**eggs n ham: Here you go!**

**ItsASecret: Hey! It's been a while since you reviewed! About the beta reader thing, I prefer doing the grammar by myself, because then, I can learn something. If I just ask a beta reader to do all my grammar, I won't learn anything, would I? So sorry if my bad grammar is pissing you off. Sometimes I just missed mistakes here and there when editing. Good luck on your algebra!**

**ChuGaEun: I wouldn't mind sleeping next to a drop-dead gorgeous ghost like Usui too. Lol. (And no, I did not mean sleeping as in... Well, that 'sleeping' perverts think of.)**

**Well, here's your chapter 4!**

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><p>I woke up from the best sleep I ever had since the accident. Birds were chirping outside my window, being the nature alarm I needed every day.<p>

I blinked open my eyes, taking in the bright light seeping through my window. I was lying on my bed, under my covers.

Alone.

He wasn't there beside me. I was alone.

Of course. Of course he had left after carrying me onto my bed. Of course he would leave me and go on with his new spiritual life.

How could I been so stupid? Believing that Usui wasn't going to leave me. How could I been so dumb to not see that the promise he made was just something to make me stop crying last night?

That stupid –

"Knock, knock, Pres," I heard his voice coming from the door. I sat up, turned and saw him, his body still glowing like a glow stick, holding a tray with a bowl of cereal – Cheerios with mixed berries, just how I liked it – on it.

"U… Usui?" I wiped the tears that were appearing in the corner of my eyes, trying to hide it from him.

But, of course, he could see through anything.

"Hey, why are you crying again?" He placed the tray on the table beside my bed and sat down beside me. "Come on, it's Monday, do you want to start school with puffy eyes?" He asked while gently wiping the corner of my eyes using his thumb.

"N-no… I-it's just that… I thought you… You left…" My voice trailed off. My face heated up. I couldn't believe I just said that. In front of _him!_

I'm starting to think that I hit my head when I was in the cemetery. Because I wasn't thinking straight ever since.

He chuckled softly and shook his head. "Really, Ayuzawa. You're just too cute for your own good."

"S-shut up!" I punched his ghost shoulder, wondering if he felt the pain, since I know that ghosts don't feel as much pain as living humans – I read it off a supernatural novel I found in the occult section in the library. "It's embarrassing!"

"Didn't I promise that I will never leave you?" He ruffled my hair, smiling when he saw my cheeks reddened.

"Stop it, you idiot," I smacked his hands off my hair.

It's really absurd how just a minute ago, I was starting to cry about him. And now I was treating him like usual. An idiotic pervert, and not my dead boyfriend.

What was with all the mood swings?

"That's better. Now eat your breakfast. You don't want to be late, do you?" He lifted up the tray and placed it on my lap. "I was planning to make you pancakes, but I couldn't find the supplies. In fact, the only food I see you have stocked up is a box of Cheerios and mixed fruits. Oh, and a box of pizza."

"Those are enough for me," I said defensively. I was lying, of course. How could a box of cereal, a bowl of fruits and a box of old pizza enough for a teenage girl? Especially a part-time working, Student Council President teenage girl, such as myself?

As if reading my mind, he said, "How are a box of cereal, a bowl of fruits and a box of old pizza enough for a teenage girl? What will you eat for lunch? Pizza-O's?"

"Would you just shut up? I said it's enough for me," I placed a spoonful of Cheerios and milk in my mouth and chew.

"We're going to go grocery shopping after school today," he stood up and went towards my cupboard.

What was he doing, I had no idea.

"But I-" I started complaining.

"No buts," he opened it and took out my uniform – good thing I placed all my under wears and such in a different cabinet as my clothes. "Now eat your cereal and change into your uniform. You'll be late."

Then, after 3 days of wondering off to space, my President senses came back to me.

School! I was going to be late for school!

I quickly placed the barely eaten cereal on my table and stood up. Running towards the bathroom, snatching my folded uniform from Usui on the way, I retorted, "Usui Takumi, if I am late today, I'm going to choke you so hard that your head will fall off your neck!"

I entered the bathroom and quickly locked the door. I didn't know if it would be useful to keep ghosts out or not – in the novel, I read that ghosts could pass through solid objects if they wanted to – but it was a habit of mine since the age of 9. I set down my uniform to the – fortunately – dry floor and started brushing my teeth, washing my face, combing my hair and… You know, stuff like that.

By the time I exited my bathroom – in my uniform, my teeth brushed, my hair combed – it was 6: 20, just 10 more minutes until the bells ring and the gates get locked up.

Great. Just great.

I sprinted down the stairs, almost tripping over a rotten floorboard, and went out. I ran, as fast as I could in my skirt, towards the school. All the people who were walking their dogs, or just simply walking, stared at me as I ran in front of them. The people with dogs were trying their best to keep their pets from chasing me.

I was just 1 yard away from the school when I noticed that I had forgotten my bag at home.

I stopped so fast that I fell flat on my face and my whole body got dragged by the force on the rocky road.

"Ouuchhh," I muttered while attempting to sit up. I felt an excruciating pain coming from my legs and arms. I looked at them and stopped wondering what could've caused the intense pain. My knees were severely bleeding – thanks to the dragging – and my elbows had completely lost their skin. There were also some scratches on my shins and forearm.

So basically, I looked like a homeless person who just gone through an earthquake.

"Ayuzawa!" I heard his voice shouting from behind. "Are you alright?"

I sat up and turned. There he was, standing there with my bag in hand. I was sure that if someone was there watching it all happen, they would be seeing my bag floating in the air.

"I just fell down, no biggie," I stood up and brushed myself off.

"Here's your bag, you left it at-" he stopped when he saw my injured arms and legs. "Ayuzawa! You're bleeding."

"Oh, yeah. It's nothing," a huge lie. The wounds were _killing_ me. But of course, I couldn't say that to him, he would make a big fuss over it. "Look, thanks for bringing my bag, but I need to go now. See you later." I took the bag from him and ran towards school.

From behind, I heard him shout out my name. But I didn't look back. Katata, the head disciplinary officer, was already starting to close the gates.

"Wait!" I shouted while running even faster. Katata saw me and waved his hands, giving me just enough time to reach school grounds before he fully closed the gates.

"How rare to see you late, Pres," he said, apparently not noticing the blood all over me, while walking towards the building in front of us.

Poor him, needing to correct all the students' attire alone.

"Yeah, sorry," I said, panting. "There was… Umm… And unexpected guest in my house this morning."

"How rude of you to call me unexpected, Pres," he suddenly materialized beside me.

"Gah!" I leaped into the air. "Stop materializing like that!"

But I guess talking to the Undead with the company of the living was a huge mistake, as Katata stared at me like I just said an inappropriate word in school.

"P-Pres?" He continued to stare at me through his glasses.

"Uh, uh, t-that was nothing! I was t-talking to… To… To a fly! Yes, yes, a fly! It has been bothering me since this morning! Yes!" I stammered.

God, why couldn't I be better in lying?

"O-_kay_…" He nodded slowly. "Well, I'll be going first then. See you, Pres."

And he went away with an expression that read: _I have no idea what's going on, but Pres looks like she needs a physician._

When he had finally disappeared from sight, I turned towards Usui and glared at him using my 'demon-eyes'.

"What?" I shrugged his shoulders, his hands in his pockets.

I wanted to shout at him. To hit him across the face right there and then. He had humiliated me in front of my Student Council colleague. I wanted to scream my trachea out. I wanted to do a lot then just saying:

"We will need to come up with some regulations if you are going to follow me around all day."

But that was what I did. I said it, holding my anger to myself, and walked towards my class.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, Pres?" He asked from behind as I felt his hands on my shoulders, turning me to my left.

"My _class_, you moron. And I'm pretty sure I won't find it in the direction you're dragging me to," I broke free from his grip and turned to my right.

"You're going to the clinic right now. You can't possibly go to class with all those nasty wounds all over you," he nodded to my legs and arms.

I was pissed with him. I was already late and now he wanted to talk me into going to the clinic? Was he out of his mind?

"Usui," I looked around, hoping that no one was there to witness me talking to thin air, "I don't have time for this."

"You have all the time you need, Pres. Education can wait, but your wounds can't."

And with that, he carried me bridal style towards the clinic.

I struggled to get free, of course. What if someone was there and saw me floating on air? I'm sure that wouldn't be pretty.

"Usui! You get me down this instant!" I hissed, afraid that if I screamed I would just attract the attention of others, while punching his chest. "Or I swear you'll be sorry!"

Much to my dismay, he didn't put me down. Well, I guess that was par for the course. But I decided to proceed anyway.

"Usui Takumi! You perverted idiot! You get me down right now or I will break every bone in your body when I do get down eventually!" I didn't know for sure if that could be done or not. Base on the information I got from the novel, ghosts won't stay injured for a long period of time. "I'm serious, Usui! I'm dead serious! If you don't-"

I was interrupted when he stopped walking, leaned down towards me and kissed me on the lips.

I was so startled that I was paralyzed for the next 5 minutes or so as he took me to the clinic.

How could a dead guy's kiss be as good as _that_? I couldn't understand. His lips were as gentle as ever when it met mine. Maybe it was just me missing the feel of them on mine too much. But still…

When I had gotten over my day dream, we were already in the clinic, which was fortunately empty. Usui placed me down in a sitting position on a 5-feet tall bed – yes, it was that tall – and dragged a chair in front of me. He sat down on it; his nose was only inches from my knees.

"Now," he said while taking a box of bandages and iodine solutions from the table beside him, "stay still and let me do my work."

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><p><strong>Please review and make my Christmas break merrier!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, so terribly sorry I didn't get to upload yesterday! My USB (where I keep all of my files for fanfiction) got corrupted yesterday. All of the files and folders in it went missing! I ejected it and plugged it in again. Fortunately, all the files and folders were back, but there was a really important folder that got all these virus folders and files (you know, the one with weird symbols as its names). So I spent the whole day yesterday trying to delete them, but failed miserably. Not only that there were virus files, some of the folders inside that folder are missing too! I feel like killing myself.**

**choco-chan143: muahahaha! I'm evil :p**

**JazzyS: My country is located right on the equator. The only seasons we have here are rainy and dry. And right now, it's rainy. I'm not kidding, it rains heavily everyday in the evening. In the morning I see a bright sky with no clouds, and in the evening I see a grey sky with grey cumulus clouds all over the sky. I will need to take my guinea pigs and hamster in everyday and piss my mom (she's never a pet-lover).**

**Chapter 5, here you go!**

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><p>I was walking – no, I guess limping would be a better word for it – down the hallway, my 2-inch thick math book in hand when Sakura's high pitched voice came into my senses.<p>

"Misaki!" She shouted. "Wait up!"

And soon after, I was facing Sakura and Shizuko, my best – and probably only – friends.

"Yes?" I asked while going into a halt. I didn't want them seeing me limp, which would only cause more questions.

"Do you have any plans after this? Do you want to go to a book fair down town?" Shizuko offered.

"Err, actually, I do. I do have plans after school," I smiled at them. "Sorry. Maybe next time."

And I wasn't lying either. I did have plans after school. I wanted to sit down with the ghost that had been following me around the school today and sternly lecture him about my privacy and how he was intruding it. He was, in fact, walking nonchalantly beside me right now, in front of Shizuko and Sakura.

I wonder how Usui would feel if Sakura suddenly walks pass him. Awkward, I guess. Because for them, Sakura and Shizuko, Usui wasn't made up of matter. For them, he wasn't there.

"Plans, huh? Let me guess, you're going to make me sit down and give me a talk about your privacy and how I'm intruding it," he breathed as if he had read my mind.

Really, this ghost thing was creeping me out.

"Y-you mind reading stalker!" I hissed at him. "And yes, that's what I'm going to do after I'm done with school, which is in about 5 more minutes."

But I totally forgot that Sakura and Shizuko were still there, watching as I hissed to empty space.

"Umm, Misaki? Did you say something?" Sakura looked at me questionably.

"Uh, ah, nothing!" I babbled.

They stared at me as if I had a big, red clown nose on.

Great, even my best friends were looking at me weirdly. What was next? The teachers? (I'll kill Usui if that happens. Well, he's already dead… Ugh, I hate that alien.)

"Well, we'll be going first then. See you tomorrow, Misaki," they waved and went away.

I turned my gaze towards the blonde standing beside me. I glared at him.

"You and I are going to have a serious talk about this once I get home," I growled, relieved that there weren't anyone else in the hallway to witness my talking-to-thin-air. They were called early to their homerooms for the announcements.

"No we're not. We're going to the market to grab some food for you. And also some bandages for your wounds," he nodded to my shins.

"I told you that my wounds are fine. Just some scratches, nothing much. Besides, you covered all of it with your excellent skills of bandaging," I started walking towards the Student Council room. I – as the President – had the privilege of not needing to stay for homeroom as all the announcements made were first approved by me. So I basically knew more than the teachers.

But by the time I took my first step, agonizing pain shot up from the ankles of my feet all the way up to my thighs. I must had twisted my ankle in the fall, and not realized it until now.

"Tsk," I flinched in pain. But because I didn't want to show him that I was in pain, I continued my walk.

Just as I made my second step, I started limping.

"You're _limping_ and you say you're fine," he stated. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear from his voice that he was shaking his head.

God, I hate him.

"Would you just shut your mouth and leave me alone?" I grumped, continuing my walk to the Student Council room.

Oh, stupid me. Of course he wasn't going to leave me alone. He didn't leave me alone when he was alive even with me punching him, of course he wouldn't leave me alone now that he's dead, which gave him even more time to stalk me everywhere.

He followed me from behind, walking as slow as I was. Seriously, limping around the school with a dead guy imitating you was not a fun thing to do.

I entered the room and sat down on the President chair. Usui soon followed from behind and sat on the corner of my table. Ignoring his stare, I took a paper to work on.

_Seika High semester 1 trip to Kyoto._

"There're going to have another trip to Kyoto?" Usui asked.

"Yes," I answered while continuing to read the paper in front of me.

_Number of pupils going: 30_

_Budget: 2000 USD_

How was 2000 USD going to be enough to bring 30 pupils all the way to Kyoto, I had no idea. But then again, I was the one assigned to arrange everything, so I would need to figure out a way. And fast.

Maybe if we lessen the sites we are going to visit, it might be enough…

"May we go now?" He asked like a kid whose parents had made him watch a boring show.

"Not now, Usui," I replied while crossing out some of the minor tourist sites on the paper.

The Kyoto History Museum; cross it out. The students would never pay attention to the artifacts in some old museum.

Kyoto International Manga Museum; let it be. I was sure that the students would be interested in manga. Students these days…

Kyoto Imperial Palace; let it be.

"May we go now?" He asked again.

"Not now, Usui," I said through gritted teeth.

Nishiki Market… What was _that_ even doing here? No teenager would want to go there. Especially Seika's teenagers.

"How about now?"

"Usui, would you just shut up?" I clenched my pen harder.

Nijo Jinya –

"Now?"

"Shut-"

"Now?"

He is _so_ annoying sometimes.

Knowing that he wouldn't shut up and let me finish my work, I placed my pen down and looked up at him. Glared up at him would be a better word to describe it, actually.

"I swear, in the midst of all creatures living in this universe, I find you most annoying and uncooperative," I hissed.

Well, he wasn't technically _living_ anymore. But whatever…

"Come on, let's go shop for your food," he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Ugh… I hate you," I stood up and stuffed the paper I had been working on inside my book bag.

"Aw, I love you too, Ayuzawa," he grinned.

When I had reached beside him, he placed a hand on my shoulders.

"Take your hand off me, pervert," I hissed while smacking his hand rapidly.

"Hit it all you want, I won't let go," his grin grew wider. "Now let's go before the classes are dismissed."

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><p><strong>Just realized something, some of my old readers aren't reviewing anymore :'(<strong>

**Well, I just want to thank whoever does. Review, I mean. Thank you for taking your time just to write a lovely review for me. Really appreciate it, you know.**

**Please review?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heyoo. This chapter's a long one! Awesomeeee.**

**Review replies:**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Ugh, I know right... It's not like I took Usui away from Misaki. I just made his condition a _little bit_ different from the real story. They're still together, and that's what matters, right?**

**JazzyS: Yeah, I think during this month, we either get snow or rain. No other choice.**

**Sabreena: Thanks. I don't know where I got the idea from. I was writing a chapter for Never Leaving You when this suddenly popped into my mind.**

**ItsASecret: I will make a fluff chapter for this story, only I don't know when. :p**

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><p>"What's with all the vegetables and fruits?" Usui asked when he saw the basket I was carrying around.<p>

"They're considered food, too, aren't they?" I asked while placing handfuls of apples inside the plastic basket.

"Well, yeah. But you need meat, too, you know. And I bet if I am to dig in the basket, I won't find any piece of meat inside," he stared horrifically at the basket.

I can't really blame him. The basket _was_ literally overflowing with vegetables and fruits – I even need to carefully stack up all the apples to make sure that they wouldn't roll out. And it was true that I hadn't placed any sort of meat inside the basket. Meat is expensive, and without Suzuna or mom home, I didn't think that buying meat was necessary.

"Meat is expensive, idiot. Besides, Suzuna and mom aren't home, so if I do buy meat, I would be the only one eating it. Such a waste of money is just not acceptable," I shook my head and walked towards the cucumber stand. There were these different kinds of cucumbers with different shapes and sizes. There were these creepily long ones that were as long as the width of the stand, and there were these little cute ones that looked like small, overstuffed bolster.

The art of cucumbers. I will never understand them.

Just as I reached out to take one of those cute little cucumbers, Usui gripped my wrist gently and said, "Not another vegetable will touch that basket of yours, understand? Now let's go get some meat."

I quickly grabbed one cucumber before he dragged me far.

He dragged me into the poultry and beef section and asked, "What do you prefer? Chicken or beef?"

"Neither," I answered while placing the basket down. That vegetables-filled basket was no joke, my hand was killing me. "I prefer getting some of my healthy green friends."

Usui, having realized that the basket was a little too heavy for me, reached down to carry it himself.

"Put it down, Usui!" I hissed. "People can't see you, remember?"

"Oh, right," he placed the basket down again and stared at it intensely.

"Umm, Usui? What's with the staring…" My voice trailed off when his glowing body suddenly glowed even brighter, and soon after that, the basket on the ground floated weightlessly in the air.

I quickly reached up to it, making it seem that I was the one carrying the basket, and not some odd energy a ghost was emitting.

"Gah," he panted. His body was back to its original glow, the one that doesn't pierce the eye that much. "That was exhausting…"

"How'd you do _that_?" I asked unbelievably. I'd seen in movies that ghosts can move things around without actually touching it, but I did not expect it to be so… Well, energy-consuming and light-emitting.

"Just picture the basket float, that's all," he said while regaining his composure.

"You were _glowing_! I mean, you're glowing all the time, but just now you were glowing even brighter!" I said, my voice too frantic even for my own ears.

"Was I?" He raised one of his brows. "Hmm. Another weird ghost characteristic yet discovered."

It really was a weird ghost characteristic. I don't know whether or not the people around us could see the bright light Usui emitted, but judging by the way they were still continuing to pick their grocery, I didn't think they could.

And judging by the way some old ladies looked at me; I think I better stop shouting like crazy to the member of the Undead in public.

"Come on, let's go," I started walking nervously towards a beef stand nearby, the basket in my grip.

"Hello, miss. What can I help you with today?" A butcher said behind the stall, wiping his hand with a white towel.

"Umm," I searched the price board for the cheapest type of beef. "I would like 100 grams of… Ground beef, please."

As the butcher went away for a while to take a Styrofoam box for the meat, Usui fussed, "What good will 100 grams of ground beef do?"

"At least I bought meat," I hissed.

"Really, Ayuzawa. I know that you're trying to save money and all, but you still need to care for your health," he condemned.

Just when I was about to reply, the butcher came back with a white Styrofoam box and a pair or tongs. He opened the huge glass case located between us, used his tongs to take a clump of ground beef and placed it on the Styrofoam box. He then wrapped it with plastic foil and placed it on an electronic weighing scale. Soon after that, a piece of paper shot out of the machine and the guy stick it onto the plastic foil.

"Here you go, miss. Anything else I can get for you?" He asked while handing me the packed ground beef.

"Ask for some chicken fillet, Ayuzawa. 100 grams of beef is not enough, I can guarantee that," Usui said, leaning on the glass wall of the beef case beside me.

I ignored his remark. "No, thank you," I smiled and took the ground beef.

"Uhh," Usui sighed while placing his forehead on his palm.

I think he was just overreacting. 100 grams of beef was enough to sustain me for a week, which was how long Suzuna and mom were going to be gone. Besides, vegetables are good for health, too, no?

I walked – erhm, limped – towards the cashier and placed the basket on the counter.

"Good evening," the lady behind the counter greeted and started scanning the barcodes of my groceries.

Usui's glow brightened again then dimmed. I looked at him questioningly.

"What'd you do now?" I whispered, not wanting the cashier to think I was out of my mind.

"Giving the food their weight back," he said nonchalantly.

"Where did you even learn to do that? Make things float, I mean," I asked. I mean, it's not like they have a school for ghosts to teach them what they're capable of. Do they?

"I did my research in the library when you're in class," he said.

I pictured it. Usui reading in the library…

I wonder if the librarian got a heart attack, seeing a book floating on air. Because she, like everyone else except me, can't see Usui.

As if reading my thoughts, Usui chuckled and said, "Relax. I read the book in the corners of the occult section. No one but bugs go there."

"You read my mind again, didn't you?" I hissed. "Ugh, you mind-reading, perverted alien ghost."

He chuckled softly.

I looked at him. Taking his golden hair. His emerald eye. His glowing body. He – no matter dead or alive – was there, standing beside me. And that thought made me smile.

But then another thought interfered.

He's dead. Sooner or later, he must go to the spiritual plane and leave me. This was beyond his control. No matter how much promises were made, it won't change the fact that he must leave someday.

He can't stay forever. He is not going to just sit there and watch me age, while he himself won't be any different from how he was when he died, is he? No, I don't think so.

So no matter how happy I am now that he's still with me, I need to prepare myself for the impending goodbye in the future. Because the promise he made has to be broken someday.

I didn't realize that I was staring at Usui until he waved a hand in front of my face, saying, "Ayuzawa? Am I that good looking that you are staring at me?"

I snapped out of my daydream, wiped the small tear drops that were starting to form in the corners of my eyes and turned towards the cashier lady, who was calling out to me with a gentle, "Miss?"

"Uh, oh, how much is the total?" I asked frantically as my hand reached into my bag and retrieved my wallet.

"It will be 378 Yen, please," she said.

I gave her the money and carried the plastic bag with my goods in it.

We were walking out of the store when I realized that Usui was staring at the bag again. I cut him off by saying, "Don't even think of about it. I need to train my muscles, idiot."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Fine by me."

I lied about the part where I needed to train my muscles, of course. The real reason I didn't want him to use his ghostly powers to help me carry the bag was because the process exhausts him. He said so himself, at the first time he used his powers to lift my basket.

And I don't care if it only exhausts him for a little amount of time. The fact that the action had drained his energy was enough for me to stop him from doing it the second time.

"May we go home now? We bought my food and my _unnecessary_ bandages," I huffed.

"Yes. And lecture me about your privacy," he said, smiling to himself.

"Nah, I just want to go to bed early," I yawned. I didn't know why I was that tired. It was only 5 in the evening and I was yawning. _Yawning!_

Oh maybe I do know why I was so tired. It could be because I had used extra energy to lie about why I was _'talking to thin air'_ to my friends.

Who knows?

"I told you that meat is important. You haven't eaten meat in days, have you? And see how exhausted you are now," he said, concern filled up his voice.

Nutrition talk. Yippee.

"It's not because of meat, idiot," I shook my head.

"Then what is it?"

"It's… I… I just need some sleep. I haven't gotten enough sleep for days too, you know," I noted.

It's true. I hadn't gotten enough sleep for the past 3 days. No, cross that out. I hadn't gotten _any_ sleep for the past 3 days. I was too busy mourning for Usui's death until last night, when he had suddenly materialized in front of me and almost gave me a heart attack. Last night was the only sleep I got the whole weekend. And it had only lasted for 3 hours!

"Because you were too busy bawling your eyes out for me," he said. "Ayuzawa, I'm touched."

"Oh would you just shut up," I groaned. "Do you really think that I will sleep after knowing that your death is my fault?"

"It's not your fault, Ayuzawa," he objected. "Just how many times do I need to repeat myself just to make you stop thinking that it was your fault?"

"Fine, it's partially my fault. But still-"

"It's _not_ your fault."

"Fine. It's _not_ my fault," I imitated his tone. "But still, do you really think that I will sleep after knowing that you're dead?"

"Aww, Misa-chan cares about me. That's so sweet of you," a playful smile swept across his face.

I groaned again.

We were walking down the bicycle aisle, our hands entwined. The sky above us was turning to a pretty shade of pink. I'm not kidding; the sky was literally pink, with thin wispy clouds – or better known as stratus clouds – high at the sky. Cars were tearing down the street, breaking the speed limit just to get home as fast as possible.

I looked up at the sky, taking in the beautiful sunset that would only last for a couple minutes before darkness would take its place.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Usui spoke up.

I looked at him. He was staring at the sky, too. A weak smile plastered on his face. For once, I felt as if the world was free of trouble. As if my life had gotten away from all its misery.

As if Usui was alive.

But there was always this glow that he gives out that will always remind me of the undeniable truth:

Usui was dead and there was nothing I could do.

I blinked back all the tears that were starting to build up and replied, "Yeah, it is."

I looked up again to the sky. The pink was getting deeper and deeper as time goes by.

Usui let go of my hand, only to place it on my shoulder and pull me closer to him.

"Let's just stay here for a while and watch the sun set. What do you say, Ayuzawa?" He asked.

To the people in their cars and joggers around the block, I must've looked particularly peculiar. After all, I was definitely leaning on Usui's chest, which must have given me an odd appearance, since of course others couldn't see Usui.

But I decided to let that slide and enjoy the view with his company.

"Yeah," I breathed as the sky turned to a shade of calming violet, "We should."

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><p><strong>So, you like the ending? I was writing this chapter and saw a beautiful sunset when I looked out the window and decided to make it one of the scenes here.<strong>

**Review please?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey. I'm so sorry I didn't get to update yesterday. I need to prepare for my Japanese cousin's arrival. She'll be sleeping in _my_ room and so I need to change the sheets, pack my clothes and move it to the spare room, where I'll be sleeping when she's here.**

**What? Only 3 reviews for chapter 6? You guys don't like it? :(**

**ChuGaEun: Losing someone as perfect as Usui would mean death for me.**

**behindclosedlipsxoxo: Aw, that's so sweet of you, trying your best to review and all :3**

**JazzyS: Walugi beef? What's that? XP. I only know the wagyu, sirloin and tenderloin beef. (I don't really pay attention to the names of beef I eat. They're all beef anyway.)**

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><p>"So," I said while munching on my cucumber, "are you going to eat or what?"<p>

"Ayuzawa, after my work of cooking this meal, you're just going to munch on your cucumber?" He stared at me unbelievably.

On the table in front of me laid a bowl of rice and a plate of beef, tomato and sweet potato stew, which gave off a smell that would rumble anyone's stomach that happens to be passing by.

Not me, though. I was sitting back, enjoying my nice, cold cucumber.

"I told you I'm not that hungry," I took another bite at my cucumber.

"I thought you were lying," he said, still staring at my cucumber distastefully.

"Why would I lie for such a thing?" I asked.

Okay, truth time. I was hungry. I was freaking hungry. But the only reason I didn't dig in and eat the stew like a hog was because I wanted Usui to eat, too. It would surely be a waste if only I was eating, no?

"To save ingredients?" His hands were moving fitfully. It was evident that he wanted to grab my cucumber and throw it out of the house. But of course, that would only anger me, and he wouldn't want that.

"Ha ha," I laughed sarcastically.

We looked at each other for a second – or two – with me still calmly munching on my sweet, sweet cucumber.

"That's it," he snapped. "Say goodbye to Mr. Cucumber."

He snatched my cucumber away from me just when I was about to make another bite.

"Heeey," I complained like a 3-year old who just had her mom take away her ice-cream. "Give me back my cucumber!"

"Not until you eat what's on your table," he said firmly while folding his arms, in which one holds my lovely cucumber.

"You evil, anti-cucumber, perverted alien," I grumped as I picked up my spoon and dug in.

The taste of his stew was _amazing_. There was this sweet taste coming from the potato, and also this salty taste coming from the meat.

Okay, that sounds disgusting. But I'm no food critic. I don't have the slightest clue on how to explain the dish I was eating. The only word I know that can explain it was:

Freaking delicious.

Okay, that was 2 words. But whatever.

"So are you going to join me or what?" I asked, my mouth chewing on the stew.

"I don't think ghosts eat," he said while sitting on the chair across from me.

"What?" I almost choked on my beef.

"Are you alright, Ayuzawa?" He asked while getting up. "Let me get water for you."

Ghosts don't eat? So all these food were only to feed _me_? You've got to be kidding me.

"You don't eat?" I asked, pounding my chest. Good thing the meat didn't go down the wrong tube.

"Here," he handed me a glass of water, which I gulped down greedily as he sat down on his chair again. "And to answer your question, yes. I do not eat."

"But why?" I asked, eyeing my cucumber which was still in his grip. "Won't you feel hungry?"

"No. I, somehow, do not feel hungry," he replied.

Just when I was going to ask more questions, he cut me off by saying, "Now finish your food first."

God, he sounded like a dad sometimes.

"Fine," I pouted.

We sat there, me eating my dinner and Usui sitting across from me, eyeing me with my cucumber in hand.

The silence got heavier and heavier each passing second. It got so heavy that a sweat formed on the back of my neck and trickled down.

"H-hey, Usui. Why don't you try eating something? I can't finish all these," I nodded to the stew.

"I told you, I don't eat."

"'Don't' as in 'just don't like eating', or 'don't' as in 'can't'?" I asked.

"The former," he said, now eyeing my cucumber.

Ha! I knew it! Even Usui was mesmerized by its beauty. Cucumbers, oh, cucumbers.

"Come on. I really can't finish all the food you've prepared. And how wasting will it be to throw it all out?" I pleaded.

There was no way – no way at all – that I was going to finish all that food. Sure, it tasted great, but it was a whole _freaking bowl!_ And after chomping down half a cucumber, I don't think my stomach was going to handle another bowl of beef, tomato and sweet potato stew, no matter how amazing it tasted.

He looked at me for a while before grabbing another fork and started digging in.

"Now, give me my cucumber back," I demanded.

He shrugged and gave me back my lovely cucumber.

"Better not get too attached to that thing. It'll be gone when you're done eating it," he joked.

"He may be gone, but I'll always remember the moments we shared," I snatched the cucumber from him and took a bite out of it.

"You treat your cucumber better than me, I'm jealous," he pouted.

"Oh shut up and eat," I took my spoon, scooped some meat and potato and stuffed it inside Usui's mouth.

As he chewed on the dish he had prepared himself, muttering about how full he was and that I should be the one eating the stew, I thought about what I said a few seconds ago.

"_He may be gone, but I'll always remember the moments we shared…"_

Then a pile of tears formed in my eyes. Don't ask me how the thought got in my head, but it just did.

Usui may be gone once he's done doing whatever-he-was-planning-to-do-by-staying-here-instead-of-the-spiritual-plane, but I'll always remember the moments we shared…

"Ayuzawa, why are you crying again?" He asked while standing up and walked towards me.

I realized that the tears that had been building up had rolled down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them with the sleeves of my uniform and said, "Uh, sorry."

Because just remembering the moments we shared together was not enough. It never will be enough. I need him to be there. I need him to be there when I need someone to lean on, someone to lend me a shoulder to cry on.

And just memories can't give me that.

"Now, Ayuzawa, tell me why are you crying again. You were fine a minute ago. Did I do something wrong?" He asked, kneeling beside me.

"I-it's nothing," I looked down at my lap. I couldn't meet his worry gaze, because if I do, the real reason I was crying would spill out. And Usui would worry over me again and promise me that he won't leave again and all will repeat over and over again.

"Ayuzawa. Please," he whispered, pain was evident in his voice.

I remained silent.

After a couple seconds of me saying nothing, he cupped my face with both of his hands and lifted it up, making me look into his eyes.

His emerald eyes. The eyes that will always calm me down even when I'm at the point of blowing up. The eyes that will take me away from the problems I'm facing, even if it's just for a while.

The eyes I would surely miss after he leaves me.

He closed the gap between us, his lips meeting mine gently.

"It's okay to tell your problems to other people, you know?" He whispered after pulling away from me.

Before he could get his face any further than mine, I leaned forward and kissed him again.

His lips weren't warm, like how it used to be when he was alive. Because, of course, ghosts can't emit heat. The only thing they can emit was light – which is only visible to me and others who can see ghosts – and energy.

But, like how it used to be when he was alive, his lips were soft and gentle.

I will surely miss them once he's gone…

Another flow of tears escaped my eye as I pulled away, thanks to the lack of oxygen in my lungs, and murmured, "You're going to leave me. That was why I cried."

"Ayuzawa," he sounded troubled. But then again, why wouldn't he be? What kind of boyfriend would he be if he wasn't be troubled if his girlfriend was constantly crying? "I promised you that I will never-"

"But this is beyond your control!" I shouted. Usui, caught totally off guard, leaned back a little; his eyes double its original size. "It's beyond your control, whether you're going to leave me or not."

"Ayuzawa, I-"

"No matter how much promises you make," I continued on, interrupting him. But he asked for it, and so I was going to tell him what exactly was making me cry, "In the end, you will leave me. It's not like you can say no to God if he asks you to leave the universal plane, can you? No, no you can't."

"Ayuzawa, wh-"

"And I was thinking," now I was mad, don't ask me why, because I don't know myself, "that when that day comes, the day you leave me for your 'after life', I may cry my eyes out so hard that I'm going to be blind. Both physically and mentally. Blind from my surroundings and also from love. I'm afraid that I will be hurt so badly that my heart will close up and stay that way forever. I'm afraid that I'll never care for someone so much ever again, because of the fear of losing them again. I'm afraid, Usui. I'm afraid…"

I was blabbering. I was crying so hard that the last couple sentences that I said sounded like baby talk. But being able to open up, even if it sounded like a foreign language, was enough for me to calm down a bit.

Usui was dumbfounded by what I said. He was staring at me with those huge emerald eyes, not able to produce a single word.

"I know that it's selfish of me for wanting you to stay, keeping you from going to heaven, reincarnation or," I didn't want to say the other side of heaven, because Usui will never go to that place, anyway, "_whatever_. But can you blame me for wanting you to stay?"

There was silence. Usui tore his gaze from me and looked down on the wooden floor. His expression was unreadable, like always.

Maybe I was too hard on him. He just died and now I was mad at him for… Being dead

Okay, I wasn't technically mad for him being dead. I was angry for the fact that he will leave me. But it traces up to the same thing anyway.

"Is that what you think?" Usui suddenly demanded in a voice I barely recognize as his, it was so filled with pent-up emotion. "That I only stayed by your side because you _want_ me to? And not because of _my own_ will?"

"Didn't you?" I stared at him as he lifted his face to meet mine. There were tears on the corners of his eyes.

Oh man, I made him cry. _Twice_ today. The first time was at 3 a.m. today, where he had magically showed up. And now for the second time.

This is bad. I made my boyfriend, a person who I never would expect to cry, cry _twice_ in a day.

"Usui," I reached up to wipe his tears, "I'm so sorry. I got out of control. I didn't mean any-"

"I stayed by your side," he said, his voice shaking, "because _I_ wanted to. Anywhere won't be as good as being by your side."

He jerked away from me, looking hurt as if I had stabbed him in the stomach, and stood up. "I went all the way back here – the _universal plane_, if you will – just to see my girlfriend blaming herself for my death, and assuming that she was the one keeping me from going to my next destination. Do you know how painful it is? To see you cry and knowing that I am the cause of each tear that falls? It's painful, Ayuzawa. Painful."

Then the tears that were piling up escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

I felt guilty for this, of course. I had caused pain for him, after he went all the way here. And then I made him cry. I made Usui Takumi _cry!_

What have I done?

"Usui," I stood up, tears falling from my eyes uncontrollably. "I'm sorry."

I hugged him tight, my wet cheeks on his chest. "I'm sorry, Usui. I'm really sorry."

I cried on his chest for a couple of minutes, letting his shirt soak in my tears. (I'll say sorry to him later about his shirt.)

It felt really good, letting go of all my sorrow and pain through crying. Really, it was. Muttering, "I am sorry" again and again. Usually, I will rarely say those three words. Almost never, actually. But here I find myself repeating it again and again, and meaning it everytime.

"Shh, shhh," Usui shushed, trying to stop me from crying. "I'm sorry I made you cry…"

"You didn't. You didn't stab my eyes, did you?" I laughed softly.

He pulled me away and looked me in the eye, a faint smile on his face.

"That's better," he said while planting a kiss on my forehead.

I giggled.

Yes, you read that right. I _giggled_.

"I'm pleased with myself for being able to make you forget about your precious cucumber, even if it's just for 15 minutes or so," he smiled mischievously. I felt something slip from my hand.

I had no idea what he was talking about. What cucum–

My cucumber! I was still holding it!

I looked down to my hand, anxiously searching for the half-eaten, green overstuffed bolster. But Usui had beaten me into it. He snatched it away from me when I wasn't aware that I was still holding it.

That explains the slipping feeling I felt.

"Hey! Give me back my cucumber!" I whined while – okay I'll admit it – laughing a bit.

When I was about to shout at him again, he shoved the cucumber in my mouth, gently of course, and said, "Misa-pig!"

"Usui Takumi…" I growled after taking the cucumber out of my mouth.

"Oh ow, gotta run," he said before sprinting out of the kitchen.

I took a bite out of my cucumber and chase after him.

"You go back here this instant, idiot!" I shouted while tossing my cucumber to the floor. Who needs him, anyway? When I got a blonde, Mr. Usui by my side?

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><p><strong>Okay, okay, forgive me for comparing Usui to a cucumber. Usui will always win, no matter compared to a lousy cucumber or a handsome prince charming.<strong>

**You might want to click that button down there. Yes, that reads 'Review this Chapter'. Quick!**

**Edit: Okay, if I get more than 8 reviews today, I'll give you a sneak peak on the angst story I promised I'll upload at Christmas Eve tomorrow!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, I see 8 reviews for chapter 7. And as promised, I'll give you a sneak peak for the angst story I'll be uploading tomorrow. Okay, I should have given you the sneak peak like days ago, but I just got the idea yesterday so forgive me.**

**Here you go, a little preview for tomorrow's story:**

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><p><strong><em>With shaking hands, I reached out to the golden handles and turned it slowly. I pushed it little by little and took a glimpse of what was happening inside.<em>**

**_There was a gigantic Christmas tree in the middle of the room decorated with bright, colorful lights and mistletoes. A huge golden star sat on top of the tree, watching as the children run around with wooden airplanes and stuffed teddy bears in hand. The adults in semi-formal attires were chatting with a glass of red wine in hand while the choir in white, silk dresses sang a song in the most angelic sound I ever heard._**

**_I found myself slowly entering the room. All the chatting stopped. The choir stopped singing as the crowd stopped talking. The running children stopped running. Everyone stared at me._**

**_There was silence for a while._**

**_However, my uncle broke it with a shout of anger, "Takumi! How dare you enter the ballroom without my permission?"_**

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><p><strong>I randomly took some paragraphs from the middle of the story, so don't blame me if you can't get what's going on.<strong> **BUT, if you do want to know what is truly happening, wait for the complete story tomorrow! Christmas Eve~**

**For now, stick with this story:**

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><p>"Gah, that was tiring," I panted while sitting down on my bed after a full hour of chasing a certain perverted alien around the house.<p>

"I told you that you won't be able to chase me," he joined me on the bed, panting lightly.

Ghosts – I had learned – do not need to breathe. But sometimes they're just so new at being a ghost that they still remember that they will pant after a long running session.

"You…" I breathed. "Are an alien. There's… No doubt about it."

"Why, thank you," he said, flattered.

After 3 seconds of regaining composure, I stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

"I'll take a bath for a while," I told him.

I could feel his stare from behind, getting heavier and heavier each step. It got so heavy that I practically dragged my feet on the floor.

"Don't you dare," I said sternly as I reached the bathroom, which was across my room, "go inside the bathroom door. Or else I'll make you regret you were ever born."

"Naw, you read my mind, Misa-chan," he chuckled. "Relax, I won't."

"Just making sure…" I said while entering the bathroom and locking the door, of course.

It was quiet the whole time outside. Not a single footstep heard. Made me wonder what Usui was doing…

I swear, if that lad even thinks of sneaking in the bathroom and surprising me, I'll hit his head so hard that it'll go flying all the way to Argentina.

I climbed out of my bathtub and wrapped myself in a white towel and my hair in another piece of smaller towel. I had been stupid enough to forget to take a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants inside to the bathroom with me, and so I went out in my towel.

Yeah, a great outfit to be wearing when a guy is in your house…

_Not_.

I opened the bathroom door just big enough for a head to squeeze through, and stuck my head out.

Good, he was nowhere to be seen.

I slowly opened the door wider, trying to make no noise whatsoever that could alarm Usui that I was done taking a bath, and tip toed out. This, however, was really hard to do. Tip toeing, I mean. Because my feet were still injured and my left ankle was strained. So it was more of a limp-toeing.

I went inside my room, wondering what could've kept Usui so quiet. But then what I saw explained it all.

Usui was lying on his side on my bed, sleeping. Well, I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he was sleeping.

And he looked super… Erm…

Cute? But that would be too feminine for him.

Hot? I mean, yes he is. But the pose he was in was more to his adorable side.

Okay, I ran out of words to describe him. But you get what I mean, right?

He looked super -place an adjective here- with his hand curled in front of his chest, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling as he breathed in – again, human habits die hard. His hair was slightly frazzled, but I find it extremely attractive.

It's not fair. Really, it's not. How could a dead guy be so… _Good looking_?

Life and its unfairness.

As much as I hated doing it, I tore my gaze from Usui and focused on grabbing my clothes and going back to the bathroom to change into it.

I inched towards my cupboard, my back facing him, and opened it, trying my best to not produce a single sound…

But failed when the door suddenly fell apart from its hinges and dropped on the floor, causing a loud and shocking 'THUD!'

Well, I guess that's what you get if you use the same cupboard for 16 years.

God, I really should change my furniture, huh?

"Ayuzawa?" Usui murmured from the bed. "What happened? Did something dropped? Are you hur-" He stopped in the middle of his question.

I turned to face him, and my jaws dropped.

Usui Takumi, the guy who I would least expect to do this, was blushing.

Yes, he was _blushing_. And not lightly, too.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry. T-the door…" I said, squatting down to lift up the door. "It fell off."

He didn't say a thing. His cheeks were still burning; his wide eyes staring at me; his jaws dropped.

"Erm, Usui?" I cocked my head to the side, wondering why he was staring at me like that.

"A-Ayuzawa. Do you always go around in _that_ when there's a male guest in your house?" He asked, sounding a _little bit_ angry.

"Huh? Going around in what?" I asked back, not understanding what he just said.

"In a towel."

Then I remembered that I was still in my towel.

God, what is _happening_ with my memory?

I quickly used the door to cover my body. My cheeks were turning tomato red.

"I. Uh. I…" I stammered while my other hand that wasn't used to hold the door in place travelled back to the cupboard, grabbing a handful of fabrics. I didn't even know what kind of clothes I had hold of. All I knew was, any shirt was better than standing there with only a towel wrapped around my body in front of Usui.

After I was sure that I had enough – or more than enough – clothes with me, I let go of the door and sprinted towards the bathroom.

Great. Now he was going to use that scene to make fun of me again and again. Just what I needed…

I looked at the clothes that I brought with me. A pair of jeans, a faded black silk T and a pair of sweatpants. Good enough.

Luckily, I had kept some of my bras and under wears inside the cabinet in the bathroom, so I didn't need to get out and take them again.

I changed into the pair of sweatpants and the T and went out. Usui was still there, sitting on the far end of the bed as if nothing had happened.

I wished nothing had happened…

I walked, as confident as I could with the self-dignity I still had – which was not that much after what happened – and my head up, towards my bed, crawled up and laid on my side, my back facing him.

Usui, instead of making some smug joke like I had expected him to, chuckled and asked, "You're really that tired, huh?"

"Uhh," I murmured while closing my eyes. Now that my embarrassment had gone away – either that or I didn't care anymore – I realized that I was really sleepy. My eyelids were heavy; my back was really sore and my feet…

God, was it killing me.

"Well, goodnight then," he leaned down to kiss my forehead and stood up, making the whole bed shake.

"Where," I turned around to face him, "are you going?"

"The kitchen to wash the dishes," he replied. "Why?"

There was a debate in my brain about doing what I was about to do.

"S-stay," I whispered while locking my gaze to my finger tips instead of his eyes. But even without me looking at them, I could sense that they grew large upon hearing what I just said. My cheeks burned furiously.

He chuckled softly and walked towards me, who quickly turned back as he laid down beside me.

Hey, don't boo me. It would be really, _really_ awkward if I laid down beside him face to face.

After he had finished settling down to a comfortable position, I closed my eyes again, ready to go to sleep.

But my hope to be able to sleep soon vanished when I felt a pair of hands snake through my waist and entwined on my stomach.

"Usui," I growled. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Hugging you," he whispered in my ear. But of course, I didn't feel his breath; he didn't have one.

"And just how do you think I'm able to sleep with your hands around me?"

"You'll sleep just fine. You know you like it," he said, meaning his hands around me.

I was pissed. And not just because of his hands or his annoyingness either. I was pissed because he was right. I did like it. I did like his hands around my waist. I did like him lying there beside me.

I did like it. And that was pissing me off.

"I do not," I objected. "It's just your perverted delu-"

I was cut off when I felt his lips pushing down on my cheek.

"Goodnight, Pres," he breathed while lying back down.

"G-goodnight," I murmured. "Usui…"

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><p><strong>How funny, I was half asleep when writing this myself.<strong>

**Please reviewwww!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, I'm really sorry about the length of this chapter. I really do not have time to write these days.**

**And I won't be updating from tomorrow until the 30th of December. I'll be in my vacation with my cousin and will not be allowed to bring my laptop. So I'll have to write the chapters by hand on a piece of paper. I promise by the time I get done with my vacation, I'll update at least 2 chapters.**

**I'm breaking my curfew right now, so good night. (Yes, it's night in here.)**

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><p>"Seriously? You're going to follow me around like yesterday again?" I hissed.<p>

I was inside my homeroom, waiting for my homeroom teacher to arrive and tell use whatever that was needed to be told. Like upcoming events, new regulations, etc. But of course, I didn't need to be here to hear what he needed to say, I already knew what he was going to say.

However, I was not alone. Some freaking perverted ghost stalker was standing beside me, leaning on the wall.

"Sorry, I'm late," my teacher panted. "I was stuck in traffic."

He used cars everyday to go to school, instead of walking. Such an environment-destroying guy…

"For today," he continued on, "there're no announcements except for a new student."

Okay, I'll admit it. I had no idea about this new student he was speaking of. And the main reason for that was because Usui had disturbed me yesterday when I was supposed to check all the reports in Student Council.

"His name is Ankoku Fiji," Seisana-sensei said uncomfortably. Well, why wouldn't he be? The new kid's name was 'darkness' in Japanese.

"New kid, huh?" Usui murmured.

A guy, upon hearing his name being called, entered the room.

He – Ankoku Fiji – had a dirty-blond hair, a pair of light blue eyes and olive skin.

"He's a transfer student from America. His parents are Japanese, but moved to the States for their jobs," my teacher said to us. To Ankoku, he asked, "Do you want to introduce yourself more?"

"I think you've got all my general information noted out, sensei. What's more to add?" His voice was low and soft. All the girls in the class swooned. With the exception of me, of course.

And the funny thing was, I had this creepy feeling that he was looking at me the whole time. And all this time, his lips were curved into a smirk.

I wanted to punch him so bad.

"So, Ankoku, please take a seat beside Ayuzawa-san, right there," my teacher lifted a hand to point to me.

I wasn't surprised, of course. There was no one beside me, because there was no one who wanted to sit beside me. They were all too scared.

He walked towards the table beside me and sat, looking at me and the wall beside me all the time.

He was still looking at me when class started – we had our first class, which was economics inside our homeroom because its room was renovated for some reason – and even after class ended.

"What do you want?" I hissed at the new lad while standing up to go to my next class, math.

"Nothing," he replied as he gathered his books.

Don't laugh at me, okay? But I had a feeling that he wasn't looking at me when he spoke. He was looking at Usui, who was eying him himself.

I looked from Ankoku, to Usui and back again. They looked like they were having a staring fight or something.

The staring fight ended when Ankoku let out a soft chuckle and went out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Usui.

"Ayuzawa," he said, his voice full of worry. "I have a bad feeling for this guy."

Somehow, I understood how he felt. Because my stomach was full of butterflies, too, and it only happens to have butterflies whenever something bad is going to happen.

"I see you have quite a special friend, there," Ankoku said by the door before giving out an evil laugh and exiting the room.

I had to swallow something big and painful down my throat.

I do not like this. I do not like this a bit.

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><p><strong>Please Review.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, I'm really sorry for not uploading until 2012. I had it all written down in paper, and typing it up is really time taking. And then comes new year and stuff. my family just _had_ to go out and eat and watch the fireworks in the traffic and 12 am.**

**Ugh... Well, here's chapter 10. Chapter 11 is ready too, but I just haven't typed it up yet.**

**I'm really thankful for all the reviews I've been getting. You know, sometimes when I say I'll leave for a while, the reviews I get for that chapter will decrease like insane. But I'm just glad that it didn't happen in Maid-sama. People here are so kind **

**Reviews:**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Maybe, maybe not. you'll know in this chapter.**

**kyofan101: DUN DUN DUN. Lol.**

**JazzyS: My eyes while writing this: ^^**

**wolphy10: Aww, thanks!**

**Sarah: THERE YOU ARE! I was wondering where you walked off to.**

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><p>"I'm telling you, Ayuzawa, that you should stay as far as possible from that Ankoku guy," Usui said from behind, sounding troubled and something else I couldn't comprehend. "I have a bad feeling about this guy."<p>

Don't get me wrong, I was really trying to pay attention to what Usui was saying. But it was a hard thing to do when I was also focused on trying to find Ankoku.

Why was I finding him when I was supposed to go to my math class, you ask? Well, that's an excellent question.

First, I wanted to jab my thumbs into his eye sockets so he would stop looking at me, or anywhere else around me for that matter. Did I care if he would be blind? Not at all.

Second, I would like to know what his parents were thinking when they gave him his name. I mean, seriously? 'Darkness' for a kid? Were they high?

But most importantly, I needed to ask him seriously about what he said in the classroom. What had he been referring to by, "_I see you have quite a special friend, there_." And who was he referring to as my 'special friend.'

Could it be possible that Ankoku could see Usui?

That would explain a lot of things about him. He could be looking at Usui the whole time he wasn't looking at me. Usui, who had been very aware that Ankoku had been staring at me, just glared at him the whole time.

"Ayuzawa, please stop. You have to go to class. The others are already inside," Usui pleaded, trying to stop me from going any further from the school.

I was, I realized soon after he said that, in front of the woods beside the school.

It was said that the woods was haunted. There had been constant happenings that couldn't be explained by logic or science.

I kind of hesitated to go in the dark forest at first, until I heard it again. Ankoku's laugh. The laugh I had been leading me to the woods. The laugh I had been so eager to find its source.

So I went in.

"Ayuzawa!" Usui shouted. Now he sounded angry, and he had every right to be. I was kind of angry at myself for following Ankoku to the woods, but my curiosity was so overwhelming that it surpassed my anger. "Please, stop!"

The forest was really dark. Gigantic trees hovered above me, blocking all the light from the sun with its leaves and branches. The only light that was available was from the rays of sun seeping from the gaps between leaves and branches.

I was running through a narrow, rocky, twisty path between walls of trees, which were really old and had those wooden patterns that looked like beaten-up circles. All the trees were taller than me, with sharp branches hanging down. I felt like I was running away from an angry mob that was trying to put their arms around me and squeeze my eyeballs out.

After what seemed like hours of running, a figure, which was wearing a Seika uniform, came to sight. His dirty blond hair glittered under a strip of light; his eyes were staring at me. And it only added up to my anger when I saw his lips curved into a smirk when he saw me approaching.

It was definitely a mistake following his laughter here.

I slowed down and stopped four feet away from him. Usui soon followed and stopped beside me. His face showed anger, just like mine.

But unlike me, the dry leaves under him didn't crackle under his weight, because, of course, he didn't have one.

"Took you long enough, Ayuzawa Misaki," his grin grew larger. "You too, Usui Takumi."

I let out an imperceptible – or at least I hope it was indiscernible, anyway – gasp.

How the hell did he know my given name?

Okay, forget my name, that wasn't the part that surprised me most. It was the fact that he mentioned Usui that made my heart stopped beating for a second or two.

I wasn't the only one who was in shock. Usui was dumbfounded for a minute or two, before going back at Ankoku, who was casually leaning on a tree bark.

I wish there were poisonous mushrooms living on the walls of the tree.

"Y-you can s-see him?" I stammered, feeling something grow in my stomach.

"I sure do," he nodded.

"A-and how do you know our names?" I asked nervously.

He sighed and straightened himself, not bothering to answer my question.

"You know," he took a step towards me, followed by another, and another one, "it's abnormal for the dead to be here, in the universal plane, mortal plane, call it whichever you want."

"Y-yeah, I know. But you're still not answering my question. How do you-"

My speech was cut short when he took another bigger step towards me and ended up being only a foot away from me. He was looking at me like I was a lost goat and he was a starving lion, ready to attack any second.

Ugh, yuck.

I took a step back, only to find myself sandwiched between a tree and the misnamed lad.

Usui, upon seeing that I was trapped, quickly lunged forward, fists ready to crack some human bones…

But quickly flinched in pain and fell onto the ground when Ankoku raised a hand to his direction.

That kid… Was he practicing witchcraft?

"Usui!" I called out while reaching to the blonde, whose glow was getting dimmer and dimmer ach second. But my hands were caught by the hand that, I'm pretty sure, had caused the pain on my boyfriend.

"Don't mind him. He's just learning the basics of being a ghost," Ankoku said as he placed my hands on top of my head, like how Tora did in Miyabigaoka. Only this time, I was pinned up to a tree, instead of a money-covered table.

"The basics of a ghost?" Ii asked, still trying to reach to Usui. But Ankoku's grip was like iron, strong and extremely painful.

"He needs to learn that ghosts aren't as free as he thought they are. There are unfortunate human beings – alive ones – who are cursed with the ability of seeing the Undead, being able to speak to the Undead, having the Undead speak to them and the ability to control them," Ankoku stated furiously as his other hand caressed my cheek. "Out of those four, I like the last best. Because it's actually useful."

Something hard and bitter grew in my throat. I felt my knees go weak, and crumbled down onto the ground, my feet stretched out, sitting on piles of leaves.

"And I suppose you're one of them?" I asked past the lump in my throat.

"Yes, I am. I'm an unfortunate lad who has to lead the members of the Undead to their last destination, instead of hanging around here."

I looked at Usui. He was still struggling on the ground 5 feet away from me, looking severely in pain.

"And so," I looked back to the monster in front of me, "now you're planning to send Usui to his next destination, I assume?"

The thought of Usui gone just simply punched me in the stomach. But it was inevitable. He will leave, sooner or later.

He squat down in front of me and said, "Depends."

That was when I finally noticed how close his face was to mine. Just inches away, really. I started instinctively to pull away, but of course, there was the tree behind me.

"D-depends?" I asked while sliding down slowly, trying to get as much distance as possible from him. "O-on what-"

But I didn't get to finish my question, because right in the middle of it, Ankoku leaned over.

And kissed me.

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><p><strong>Woahahaha. What will happen next? Will Usui finally get that fist into Ankoku's stomach? Chapter 11, coming up soon.<strong>

**Oh, and if you guys are wondering, Fiji is his family name. Ankoku is his given name.**

**Pleash Reviewsh?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Heyooo, sorry for the long wait. Typing seemed so hard after 5 days of writing on hand .**

**But I'm finally done! Hah... What a nice feeling...**

**Reviews:**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Lol. Everyone hates the antagonist character.**

**fateMoon: Even with Usui dead he still can punch Ankoku. For people who can see ghost, ghosts can touch them - and punch them, if necessary.**

**ChuGaEun: You'll see :)**

**MushyBear: Of course, everyone loves drop-dead gorgeous ghosts.**

**kyofan101: Darkness kid. Lol. Good one.**

**violetshade: *spoiler* They both will :3**

**KaityMaxz: Lol. Badguys. Ankoku's a hot badguy.**

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><p>I won't lie to you. It was a good kiss. I felt it all the way down to my poor, strained ankle.<p>

Which is not to say I kissed him back. I most definitely did not. He may have been a great kisser and all, but it doesn't mean I should kiss him back. I mean, a girl has to have some principles.

I struggled to free myself, but all it did was encourage him more. And thanks to that, half his body ended up over mine, pressing me down on the leaves and dirt. And I know it wasn't doing any good for my uniform.

So then I had like a hundred and eighty pounds or something of seventeen-year-old guy on top of me, which is not, you know, any picnic when it's the guy you despised. Or at least, someone you're pretty sure you despised.

I managed to wrestle my lips away from Ankoku's long enough to say, in a sort of a strangled voice, since he was crushing my lungs, "Get off me."

But Ankoku just went on kissing me – not on the mouth, because I had fully turned my head away – on my neck and, at one point, part of one of my ears.

"Get. Off. Me," I said again with more intensity, still trying to wrench my wrists from his fingers, and also to keep my neck away from his mouth. His lips seemed to have a curios effect on the skin of my throat. They made it feel like it was on fire.

I then dropped my gaze from the trees above me to Usui. He was glaring at Ankoku while wincing in pain. The sight, somehow, caused more pain to him than Ankoku's trick did. The look on his emerald orbs was full of pain and anger.

It made my heart crumble down.

"Naw, let me enjoy the moment, would you?" He said between kisses. "Then I'll reconsider about sending your guy to hell."

That made me stop struggling.

Was Ankoku really planning to send Usui to a place as horrible and loathsome as… Hell?

Usui didn't – and never will – deserve hell. He didn't deserve being dead. He didn't deserve any pf this.

It was entirely my fault.

My thoughts were disturbed when I felt Ankoku's hand – the one that had been brushing my cheek – on my chest, unbuttoning my shirt fast.

Okay, I'll admit it, right then I was as scared. What was he planning to do? What should _I_ do? My hands were pinned up; my legs were weighted down by the beast. I was trapped.

"Get off me!" I squealed, fear overcoming me.

Ankoku started to lick – _gross – _my neck and areas near my collarbones. His teeth pierced in my flesh afterwards.

And no, not in a vampire-like way.

"Get… _Off!_" I said, trying to maintain my composure.

I may not show my weak side. Especially not to enemies. They'll crush me like an ant if I ever do.

But it's true. I was scared as hell. My heart was pounding hard against my ribcage, and not because I was eager about what was happening, either. For the first time in my life had I been this terrified.

His fast fingers were already done with my uniform and was tugging inside my camisole, unclasping my bra when Usui, looking as angry as ever, stood up gingerly. His hands were clenched into balls of fists; his knuckles turning white.

How did he manage to do that? I thought Ankoku had complete control on him?

Just when Ankoku was done with my bra and was about to yank off all three of my tops – my uniform, cami and bra – in the same time, Usui's fist dug into the side of his chest, sending the witch stumbling down the ground.

I quickly covered my chest using my hands, which were free after Usui had knocked the pervert down. My breaths were shallow and unsteady, as if from crying.

I owe Usui another one.

Ankoku stood up and brushed himself off. He didn't seem to be in pain in where Usui had punched him.

"You freaking bastard!" He shouted. "What'd you need to hit me so hard for?"

"That's for causing me pain," Usui growled. "And this-" he sunk his fist in Ankoku's stomach "-is for laying your hands on my girlfriend."

I watched as my boyfriend and the living devil beat each other into bloody pulps, muttering about how sorry each other were going to be before sinking their fists and legs into each other's body.

I couldn't let this continue. No matter how much I hated Ankoku, I couldn't let it continue. Not that Usui could get severely injured or anything, because he couldn't, he's a ghost.

So I stood up, my whole body shivered when I took my first step using my strained ankle, which got even worse after being sat on by a witch.

"Stop, Usui," I muttered while distancing myself from the fight. I may be strong, but I was not that stupid to go into the middle of a human-vs-ghost showdown.

He didn't hear me. He just kept on beating Ankoku up.

"Your girlfriend, you say? You're dead! Dead people do _not_ have girlfriends!" Ankoku laughed while dodging a fist.

Usui ignored him and continued to sink his fists and feet into Ankoku.

"You're just holding her back from her life. A _normal_ life," Ankoku continued. "With you around, she'll never let go of you and move on to another _living_ guy."

This struck Usui in the head harder than a boulder could. He froze and stared at the ground blankly.

What Ankoku said was false. If Usui hadn't appeared two days ago, I would've died of starvation and stress. Usui was doing nothing except the good for me.

Ankoku took this moment to attack Usui. He punched him on the face and kicked him on the stomach, sending him falling on his backside on the leaves, still quite speechless.

Seeing that his opponent was weak enough, Ankoku took out something shiny from the pockets of his pants. His mouth curved into a grin that sent shivers down my spine.

"Usui!" I shouted while running towards the blonde on the ground. "Knife!"

"Now, now," I felt a hand grabbed my arm, "just where do you think you're going, young lady?"

"Let me go," I said firmly.

He pulled me towards him and lifted my chin using the pointy end of his knife. I wish he couldn't feel how bad my body was shaking.

"Give me a good reason why I should," he traced the knife up my cheek.

I breathed in a cleansing breath, building up enough courage in me. Not that it helps while dealing with a perverted, ghost-seeing, ghost-controlling, witchcraft-practicing idiot. But it helps to calm myself down and not do anything stupid that I'll regret later on.

Like, maybe, snatching Ankoku's knife and use it to stab his eyes. Maybe…

"Because," I said, thankful that all the breathing helped mu voice to get firmer, "I can summon my powers from hell and finish you up."

Caught off guard by what I just said, Ankoku's smirk disappeared. He loosened his grip around my arm a little, long enough for me to yank it away from him.

But my joy didn't last for long. The second he noticed that I was free, he tightened his grip on the knife while his lips curved into a dark smile.

"Man, you're more interesting than how the rumors say," he chuckled while playing with his knife.

I didn't hesitate to punch him in the stomach, earning a satisfying wince from him.

"I don't know what the rumors say about me," I swung my right leg over and kicked his knife out of his grip, "but I can assure you that they're not even half of what I am."

Ankoku looked down at his hand as if I'd burned a hole through it.

I took advantage of his astonishment, and said, in my sternest, most no-nonsense tone, "Now, look, Fiji. I'm the 'demon' President everyone is talking about. So you better not mess with me or my boyfriend."

Ankoku looked up from his finger, his expression still one of utter disbelief. "What kind of… _girl_ are you?" He asked softly.

He hesitated so long before he said the word _girl_ that it was clear he wasn't at all certain it was appropriate in my case. This didn't bug me at all. I mean, it will be useful to handle him if he noticed I wasn't as girly as other girls my age.

With my trade mark 'demon' smile, I replied pleasurably, "I'm the girl you don't want to mess with."

And I kick-boxed him on the abdomen and sent him tumbling onto a stack of dry leaves.

I felt my ego rising despite what had happened five minutes ago. You know, the being pinned on soil stuff, which is, you know, no fairytale when it's not even the guy you _want_ to be on top of you.

Which is not to say that I _want_ anyone to be on top of me. I most certainly do not.

"Now, if you would excuse me," I turned for my dramatic exit while in the same time seeing how Usui was doing, "I need to talk to my boyfriend."

But when I turned to see Usui, he wasn't there anymore.

So much for my dramatic exit.

I tried to not look so surprise or embarrassed or betrayed, ignored the fact that Usui had left me alone with the witch there and stormed towards the way I went in.

My ego was crushed when I heard Ankoku laughed from behind.

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><p><strong>Okay, the first sentence of the chapter probably made you go 'WHATTTTT?'<strong>

**But she's still a girl - lol I sound like Usui - so she must admit if a kiss was good or not.**

**Please review! :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, my cousin went back to Japan yesterday. And now that she's gone - _not_ as in 'dead' - I realized that I was freaking exhausted. I went to bed right after I arrived home from the airport. I didn't even bother to change to my PJs - I was _that_tired.**

**Reviews:**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Good, that means I'll pass my Cambridge. LOL. Because, you know, they're finding suspense and all :p**

**fateMoon: He doesn't know what Misaki felt about the kiss :)**

**usuixmisaki: If I make him disappear, I won't have the energy to write anymore :p**

**ChuGaEun: You'll find out in the next chapter.**

**kaiwa: Aww, that's so sweet. And I apologize that I didn't update daily these days. I'll try to come back to my ol' habit again once I enter school.**

**Ripplerose: You still remember her! *so proud of my OC* :p**

**AND AGAIN, I'm sorry that I don't reply to each and everyone of you guys. Because, there's just so many of you guys that... That... *tears of happiness drop***

**I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**The reviews that you guys leave had not only gave me the joy but also inspiration to write! And - as I said in my first story 'Gone In a Second' - the more reviews I get, the faster the updates become.**

**95% of the time, anyway. When I'm not dealing with examinations or other stuff.**

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><p>I didn't head to class directly, of course. Not with my bra unclasped and my uniform unbuttoned and rumpled. Instead, I went in the outdoor girls' restroom.<p>

By the time I arrived in front of the huge mirror by the sink, I was horror stricken.

I looked like a mess.

No, cross that out. I was a mess.

My hair was going in a thousand directions, thanks to the wind that hit my face when I was running back to the school. My hands and face were scratched – some visibly bleeding – because of the branches that hovered down from the trees. My uniform was rumpled and covered in dirt.

But worst of it all were the kiss – and bite – marks all over my neck and thee area of my collarbones.

Ugh, yuck.

Just how was I going to go back to class without looking like a lunatic?

Maybe I could comb my hair a bit, and button my uniform up to the first one…

But my uniform would still be dirty and rumpled. And that would go against the school rule number 5:

_Uniforms are to be worn properly and kept clean at all times._

I felt a cold breeze lick my skin. I turned and saw, none other than, my dead boyfriend who left me alone with a lunatic, holding a uniform and a comb.

"Ayuzawa," he sighed in relief as he wrapped his arms around me. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes," I balanced myself.

"I'm so sorry for letting that happen. I'm really, really sorry," he tightened his grip around me.

_And you show it by leaving me with the guy, _I thought. But I decided to let it slide. I'm sure he had a good reason why he left me.

I felt something cold and wet dripping on my shoulder. Something that felt like…

No, no. It's impossible. Is it? Is it possible that Usui was… _Crying?_

"H-hey, it's okay. Y-you were pressed down against your will, too, right?" I assured him.

He pulled away; tear marks evident on his face.

"You don't understand," he shook his head. He ran his fingers through his blond, glowing hair. "If I had known that Ankoku's _trick_ would stop if I pay attention to something else earlier, you – Ayuzawa, what are you doing?"

Right then I was squinting my eyes to see Usui's hand, which were covered in something that looked really like bruises and cuts.

"Is that _burn marks_ on your hand?" I asked while grabbing his arm to see it clearer. He winced in pain. "Oh, sorry."

His hand was indeed covered in bruises and cuts. I touched the nasty bruises – resulting Usui to wince again. The bruises were still tender, and, according to my experience, it would turn blue-ish purple in a day or two–

Wait. How could Usui have wounds and bruises on his body? Ghosts don't get injured – not for long, anyway. And the time I used to run from the woods to the restroom is enough to fix even a broken neck.

So what gives?

"It's just a scratch, nothing to worry about," he said while I continued to examine his hand.

"Ankoku did this?" I asked, lifting his index finger up to see the tip of it.

"Y-yeah," he sighed. "Look, it's nothing-"

"It's no nothing! If it's just a '_scratch_' like what you said it is, it would've disappeared by now! But it's clearly still here!" I was raging with fire. I didn't like the fact that a guy had injured my boyfriend.

I did not like it even a bit.

"I'm going to have a word with that guy," I said while releasing Usui's hand.

"Please, don't. Just stay as far as possible from that… _person_," he said as if it was the last thing he would use to describe Ankoku.

"But-" I protested, but was rudely interrupted when Usui suddenly leaned forward and…

…_Blew my ear._

"Eeeek-!" I kicked – literally – him away. "S-s-stay away from me, you pervert!"

He chuckled. "Now, if you don't change and get to class, I'll have to help you change…"

"NO THANK YOU!" Smacking his head so hard that I thought it might fall off; I snatched the uniform and comb from him and went in a stall.

Inside, I heard him chuckled softly. His trade mark aside from his smirk, I guess.

But there was something in his chuckle. Something I couldn't quite lay my finger on.

Something he clearly was desperately trying to hide from me.

But what? More importantly, why?

Why was he so hardheaded and always wanted to face his problems alone? Didn't he know that hiding things from me only worries me more?

I changed into the new uniform and combed my hair, wishing that by buttoning my uniform up to the collar would hide the marks, and went out.

"Usui," I started, wishing that he would open up about what was bothering him.

But all my hopes of finding out his problems vanished when I swung open the door and found a glittery shimmer that could only be left after a ghost – or any other paranormal being – dematerializes.

Curse him and his ability to leave without making a sound like that.

Just then, the bells rang and the doors burst open. The hallways were engulfed with students faster than you can say _paranormal activity_.

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><p><strong>Okay, sorry if the length is short. My back is killing me. I bent too much while playing with my cousin these past 2 weeks. Ugh...<strong>

**Please leave a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**My deepest apology for updating late. School started at Monday and my teachers had gotten from strict-with-homework to plainly-mad-with-homework. Just the first day of semester 2 they had given the whole grade a huge writing assignment - a three thousand word essay on how our holiday went - and it was due the next day. Then on Tuesday we needed to find the definitions, part of speech and make a sentence for 50 words. Due the next day as well. And... Yeah, you get the picture.**

**And I started reading this series called the Maximum Ride. The books are amazing! Only, after reading slow paced books for the past 2 years, I find this series to be _too_ fast paced. Anyone else reads the series?**

**Oh, and have I mentioned that I can play the piano? I'm a self-taught pianist, so I don't really go around telling people I play the piano. So, I started playing the Turkish March by Mozart, or Rondo Alla Turka in another language, at October 2011 and stopped for at December in the middle of it. I realized that if I am going to play other songs, I might as well finish this one. So I started playing it again. Let me tell you something: it's _challengin__g_ (because nothing is hard, just a little challenging) to learn a 5-paged song without a teacher. But nothing's impossible, and since I'd managed to learn half of it, I decided that i'm not going to give up. So yeah, I spent a heck lot of time practicing that song.**

**Okay, sorry for keeping you from the chapter, _if_ you're still reading this. But I have one more thing to say.**

**If you guys have an idea for a story, but just can't write well or any other reason but is dying to get a story made out of the idea, be free to pm me or leave a review or something. I'll be delighted to write it for you. I just feel that writing what _I_ want is not going to help me in my Cambridge later on. Well, not that much anyway. So feel free to request me a story :)**

**I'll answer your reviews in the end of this, because I feel like I'm keeping you too long from the chapter. Enjoy, and once again, sorry for the late update.**

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><p>He didn't show up for the whole day until I reached home. He was sitting on my bed, staring out the window.<p>

I would've thought that he was just bored if I hadn't seen that he was holding a knife-like object. I observed him again, now realizing that sadness and exhaustion were painted on his face.

"Usui?" I knocked on the slightly ajar door.

"Oh, Ayuzawa," he snapped; his expression changing, "I thought you have a shift in Maid Latte today."

"Honoka wanted to change shift with me," I placed my bag on my study table and inched towards my bed.

"Oh, I- I see…" He said with a hint of formality.

Wait. Formality?

Okay, he was definitely bothered by something.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked; standing in front of him, my hands crossed on my chest.

"What is wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me. What makes you think that something's wrong with me?" He asked quickly.

A little _too_ quick.

"Oh, I don't know. First, you disappeared in the woods, leaving me alone with that psycho," I stated sarcastically. "Then you disappeared in the restroom, leaving me alone with… _Alone_. And now you're sitting here staring at the window – even though it's clearly not sunset yet – being formal with me – your freaking _girlfriend_ – while holding a…" I squinted at the object he was holding while he tried to hide it from me even more "… What is that, anyway? A knife?"

"It's nothing," he said quickly.

"Yeah, that's _so_ convincing. Psh," I dropped my hands to my sides and leaned down to him. "Now give that to me."

"It's really nothing," He scooted back, the hand that was holding that _mysterious _thing hidden behind his back.

"Nothing that you shouldn't let me see," I crawled onto the bed; my hands snaking their way to his back, trying to get a hold of the object.

"Really, it's nothing that you need to see," he scooted back some more, looking uncomfortable.

And I chased him until he was sandwiched between the headboard and me.

"Ayuzawa, it's really, _really_ nothing that you need to be concerned of," he groaned in frustration. Now he was looking extremely uncomfortable. Maybe it was because I was only a few inches apart from him. Or it could be because he really didn't want me to see it, which of course only resulted in raising my curiosity level to the max.

I sighed in exhaustion. Who knew that chasing a dead guy could be this tiring?

I was about to give up and pull away when a scene from yesterday popped in my mind.

I kind of hesitated to proceed with what I was planning in my head but, being the last thing that might get the job done, I did it anyway.

My cheeks blushing furiously, I leaned forward and stopped at the feel of his lips on mine. It was not a long kiss, but it doesn't mean that it wasn't a good kiss. It was so good that I felt myself deepening the kiss myself, but stopped as soon as I had realized it.

"It's okay to open up, you know?" I placed my forehead on the crook of his neck.

Sounds oddly familiar? That's because it was what Usui said last night to me when I was crying. Well, with a few changes from me.

I heard him sigh and then a pair of hands crawled around me, pulling me closer to him.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked softly as his fingers danced on my back, sending tickles down my spine.

I nodded against his shoulder.

He let out a sigh and straightened himself while releasing his arms around me. I straightened myself and sat right in front of him, our knees touching each other since we were sitting cross-legged.

He stared down at his hands with those tired green orbs. I followed his gaze and saw, with eyes the size of a full-grown orange, a knife.

And not just some ordinary kitchen knife, either.

It was enormously huge, its blade 2 inches wide heel and slowly going narrow down the point where it ends. Its blade, instead of being in a shape of a D – which is, more or less, the shape of a usual kitchen knife's blade – was a squiggly isosceles triangle (if you don't know or just simply fell asleep in class because of boredom, an isosceles triangle is a triangle that has 2 angles and 2 sides which are equal to each other.) The knife's handle was made up of something that looked like a block of gold, carved into a stunning figure of an angel with wings 10 centimeters wide each.

"What are you doing with a _knife?_" I asked while snatching the work of beauty from him. It was mesmerizing. I wonder where he got it from.

"Planning for a suicide," he said nonchalantly as he stared out the window again.

My eyes were only _this_ close to popping out of their sockets.

"Suicide?" I cocked my head to my right. "Not to be unpleasant or anything, Usui, but I don't think you need to stab yourself using a knife to be dead. You _are _already dead."

He breathed in deep and exhaled loudly, as if from frustration. "I know I'm dead. It's not really _suicide_ that I was talking about. I mean, well, more or less it is like a suicide. Only, of course, you need to be alive to be _able_ to do that. Argh, it would be dawn by the time I finish explaining this," he scratched his head in frustration.

"Make it simple then, because I have tons of paper to do since I didn't get to concentrate in class today." _Thanks to Mr. Darkness_.

He sighed and chuckled. He looked down at his legs for a complete 5 seconds and then back up at me.

"Okay, but in one condition," said Usui with a smirk on his face.

I knew all too well what the meaning behind _that _was.

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><p><strong>cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: LOL Have you watched the last one?<strong>

**ChuGaEun: Gamsahabnida! 3**

**fateMoon: 'Freaky guy' I forgot that word when I was explaining Ankoku -.-**

**Melaniee: Arigatou! 3**

**kaiwa: Maybeee. If I tell you then you'll have a clue on what my age is. You'll have your jaw on the floor if you know what my age is. Let's just say that I'm really, _really_ young.**

**Sarah: Maybe I'll do the Misa gets knocked out thing...**

**Lost Grey Soul: I did? In what chapter?**

**Well, that's about it then. Please review and tell me if you want your ideas to be written as a story by meh~**

**Edit: I'll make another story and post your stories there. I will give you credit for it, of course. I just want to improve my writing skill.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, I'm terribly sorry for the late update. I actually have it typed up ready, but my internet crashed for a couple of days and just got fixed today. I know, my internet suck.**

**And for the ideas for stories that I've been getting through reviews, I've read them and I LOVE them! I'll try to write them as soon as possible. Do any of you guys have ideas for the title of the story I'll be posting the stories in? I mean, surely I can't use 'Requests' as the title, can I?**

**Reviews:**

**JazzyS: It's not really a 'suicide', you know. It's... Um... Read this chapter and you'll know. And yep, I am young. _Very_ young.**

**ChuGaEun: Oh no, my friend do, though. So I teach her some Japanese and she teaches me some Korean :p**

**kyofan101: I read the second and the fourth book and now reading the fifth. I can't find the first and third one X_X**

**fateMoon: I know! I love it too. But it's just a little too fast paced for me.**

**usuixmisaki: That's a great idea you got there! I'll try my best to write it as soon as possible! Do you want it to be a oneshot or chaptered?**

**Lost Grey Soul: Wooo. That'll be a long chaptered story. I LOVE IT.**

**Sarah: Yep, I'm planning to use it in chapter 15.**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: No... I didn't watch it, and not planning to. I... hate ghosts... But I surely am not scared of it... I am... Not... Scared...**

**Spicylicious: Personally, I don't find them _that_ hard. Just tricky. I got band 6 for English, Science and Math for my End-of-Primary Assessment test. Okay, so it's Primary tests, they're not so hard, but how much different can it be with IGCSE? Have you taken the IGCSE?**

**Without further ado, here's your chapter 14!**

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><p>"This <em>knife-<em>" he chuckled "-is the thing that has been keeping me here, in the… What was that two words that you kept on saying again? Universe plane?"

"Universal plane," I corrected him.

"Right. So as I was saying, this _knife-_" he tried his best to hold his chuckle again. But the more he tried, the more he felt like laughing. "I'm sorry, I really can't stand how cute you are, saying that this is a _knife_."

Right then I felt like punching his throat. I was embarrassed enough that he had asked me to sit in between his legs, my back leaning on his chest. Now he was going to embarrass me even more just because I called something a _knife_?

You do not know how much I was resisting the urge to swing my elbow backwards and break some of his ribs, even if it was just a short period of time.

"It's a dagger. I see, your vocabulary is just as bad as Shintani's," he chuckled.

Hold your fist, Misaki… _Hold… It…_

"Would you just shut up and continue with your explaining? I have things to do after this, you know," I grumped.

"Okay," he placed his arms around me, his fingers lacing on my stomach. One of his arms was still severely wounded with fresh bruises and cuts.

Oh, you must be wondering: _if ghosts don't have blood, how can Usui have cuts?_

Well, his cuts weren't all bloody and grotesque like human cuts. They were just flesh split open a little, showing the white and glowing insides of a ghost body.

To make it simple, just imagine a human cut without the blood and the red color around it.

Love my way of explaining things?

"So the dagger here is the thing that helped me go back here, the _what-what_ plane," he explained to me like I was five.

"Eh? So what you're saying is that if you, what, stab yourself with that _dagger_, you will go back to the spiritual plane?" I asked, tilting my head back to see a little of his face.

This was actually a really heavy thing to talk about. But we were speaking like we were discussing what flavor of ice-cream we would eat later. Completely unimportant.

"Spiritual planes… Where do you even get these words? I don't think they teach it in school, do they?" He chuckled beneath his breath as his hands squeezed me tighter.

Simple. I read supernatural novels. _With a hint of romance in them…_

But I was not planning to tell Usui that. Especially the last part. I don't even know what had gotten in to me when I picked up the romance/supernatural novel in the library. It's not like I enjoy romance stories…

Well, okay maybe just a little, but –

Forget I even brought up the topic, please.

"Out of the question! I'm supposed to be the one asking here, not you," I straightened myself, because I was starting to slip against the fabric of my bed sheet. "Now tell me about the suicide stuff you were bantering about."

The atmosphere of the room became dark and heavy.

For a couple of minutes, I didn't dare to make a sound. It seemed as if I was in a minefield; a single sound or movement could trigger a huge load of explosives and blow out my internal organs.

Usui wasn't making any sound or movement. His grip had gotten tighter when the atmosphere changed, so now he was squeezing my lunch out.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until my lungs were screaming up to my brain for air and started breathing. Usui, having realized that I moved a little, snapped out of his day dream and apologized, his hands releasing my waist.

"I-I'm sorry," he said as he pulled his legs together and stood up on the floor, walking straight to the door.

What was _that_ about?

"Usui!" I quickly grabbed his wrist before he could get anywhere near the door. "W-what's wrong?"

"I-it's… I've… I've been thinking about what Ankoku said," he sat back down on the side of the bed, his head slumped downwards.

Again with that prone of Satan.

"Ignore him, Usui. Why do you even care what he has to say? He's a jerk," I started insulting Ankoku, my blood boiling with rage. "He's nothing but a perverted jer-"

"Because it's true. I mean, I _am_ a ghost. I shouldn't be having a girlfriend. I shouldn't even be here," he shook his head. "I'm keeping you from having a normal life."

Oh, but the nightmare was not over. The worst part was coming up…

"And I was thinking about going back to the spiritual plane, to let you go, to set you free," he said, his hand rubbing his temples vigorously, his eyes closed.

And even though I knew he was nowhere near over, I intercepted, "To leave me."

His eyes popped open, full with shock.

"So you _were_ planning to leave me. I knew it. I knew that all those promises you make are nothing but bullshit," I stood up, feeling no emotions in me. I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel guilty. I didn't feel anxious.

I felt numb.

For once, I didn't care on what was going on in my messed up life. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I had never felt that way before.

And I actually liked it.

I made my way towards the door, stopping when I felt an iron grip on my wrist.

"Ayuzawa, I didn't mean it like that. I want the best for you-" He started, but I interrupted.

"Well, I don't want you to go! If you want the best for me then stay!" I burst out in tears unknowingly.

Okay, I guess I ever felt numb before. I felt numb a minute before breaking to tears 10 years ago, when my dad suddenly disappeared. But that was the first and last time I'm going to shed tears for that guy.

I guess that numb feeling only appears before a huge flood of tears will flow out.

My knees felt weak, and I fell onto the floor on my backside. Usui quickly sat down beside me, trying his best to comfort me.

"I'm sorry, Ayuzawa. I just thought it might be best…" His voice trailed off as I sobbed even harder.

"I don't want you to leave me… I… I don't… Want… I…" I managed to mutter between sobs.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I felt a huge weight on my chest, squishing the breath out of my lungs. My eyes were stinging; it felt like someone had sprayed fresh lemon juice on them. No, more like the acid in car batteries.

I felt Usui's strong hands on my shoulder, gently pushing me against his chest.

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes while I tried to regain my composure.

"I… I'm sorry," I pulled away while wiping the tears on my cheeks. "I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry, Ayuzawa. I didn't mean it like that. I never wanted to leave you. It pains me as much as it pains you, even just to think of it. I… I'm sorry, Ayuzawa," he cupped my cheeks with both of his hands as if he was going to kiss me.

Only I never did find out what Usui was going to say next, because the door to my bedroom suddenly swung open.

"Pardon me for interrupting," Fiji Ankoku said.

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><p><strong>Please review :3<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, so this one is not that long. Sorry for that.**

**And... Let me see... I don't think I have anything to say.**

**Oh! Actually I do!**

**You guys know Jay Chou, right? -Of course you do- Yeah, I was going through piles of old stuff when I found an old movie by him. You guys know the time traveler? (It's awesome! Go watch it sometime if you haven't.) I re-watched it and got addicted to its theme song: Secret. And also the songs that Jay Chou and some guy (I forgot his name) played in their piano battle. Right now, I'm trying to learn Secret first, then to the piano battle songs. So maybe I won't be updating daily anymore... BUT I'LL WORK MY BEST TO UPDATE DAILY! I PROMISE!**

**Reviews:**

**kyofan101: Hmm, I'll need to hunt that down.**

**usuixmisaki: I look forward to writing it :D**

**ShadowKiss123: Naw, that's okay. We all have our lives aside from FF.**

**violetshade: We Are Not Alone. Wooo, ghosty.**

**Sarah: Nah, it would be troublesome for the new readers. Thanks for the idea, anyway :3**

**Lost Grey Soul: Well, I thought since it's your idea it might be fair for you to be the one picking out titles. But I'll try to think of some too.**

**Well, that's it then! See ya!**

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><p>Ankoku. I had forgotten all about him after that incident at school.<p>

"Knock much?" I asked Ankoku, hoping he would not notice the panic in my voice as Usui and I pulled apart from one another and shot up to our feet.

"Well," Ankoku said, looking pretty smug for a guy who'd been beaten up – more or less – by a girl he had been sexually harassing a second before. "I heard all the talking and figured you had guests. I didn't realize, of course, that you were entertaining the Undead."

Usui, I saw, was meeting Ankoku's sardonic gaze with a pretty hostile stare of his own. "What are you doing here, _Fiji?_" Usui asked, in a not particularly friendly voice.

"Takumi," Ankoku said, pleasantly. "How are you this evening?"

"I was doing better before you got here, frankly," Usui replied. "_What are you doing here?_"

Ankoku said nothing. But his gaze moved from Usui down to me, a smirk forming on his face. Usui, having noticed that the pervert had moved his gaze to me, stepped in front of me, his left hand holding my left wrist from the front.

"Answer," Usui muttered bitterly.

"Well, nothing in particular. I just thought I might stop by and say hello," he casually leaned against my door frame. "Oh, and I hope you don't mind me breaking your front door, Misaki."

I was so filled up with rage that I didn't even care about my door, which would cost me 3 months of my salary from Maid Latte. Guess I would not be eating lunch for the next 3 months.

And it only added fuel to the fire that he had called me by my given name. No one – except for people that were close to me – may call me that. Absolutely no one.

"Do not," I said sternly while stepping beside Usui, "call me with my given name."

"Well, gee. I mean, I went all the way to your house just to say hi, and this is what I get?" He pretended to look hurt.

"Nice to see you, too! Now leave," I clenched my fist, trying so hard to not just lung at him right then and there that I felt steam going out of my ears.

He nodded while straightening himself. "Yes, I believe I do need to leave. But before that, I need to say something."

Oh, what now?

He inched towards Usui and me, his face showing… Nervousness? I don't know. He looked like he was going to give a speech in front of the United Nations.

As he was approaching us, I felt something growing in my stomach. A knot. Or should I say, The Knot.

Here's some Misaki fact for you guys there:

Misaki Ayuzawa, a girl who can fight a group of wrestlers, has a knot in her stomach that tells her whether something bad is going to happen or not.

And depending on how bad that knot was, Ankoku was not going to do anything that I would like.

"Ayuzawa Misaki," the devil said, seriousness filled his voice.

What was Ankoku going to say? I won't lie to you, at that moment, my palms were sweating. My heart was beating thrice as fast as usual, which was saying something because it only beats like that whenever Usui leans down on me with a serious face.

Usui quickly pulled my hand and took a step in front of me.

"That's as far as you go. You go another step near her and I swear you'll regret ever meeting me," Usui growled, his emerald eyes as fierce and sharp as tigers'.

Ankoku stopped a foot in front of Usui. Despite being in front of Usui, who might blow up any second then, his eyes was locked on me.

I didn't know what to do. I mean, I hated the guy. I hated every bit of him. But I couldn't help but feel pity on the guy, especially after seeing how his tired and sad his eyes were. He had been spending his time dealing with the members of the Undead. That couldn't be too pleasant. Not when you could use your time to play or – in his case – attend manner school. So it hadn't been all too easy on him.

"What… What do you want?" I asked firmly. Or, at least I hope it sounded firm.

"I like you, Ayuzawa Misaki," he said. And he looked like he really meant it.

What?

My knees suddenly felt weak. I couldn't breathe anymore. My vision blurred as my room turned sickeningly, making my head hurt even more. My body met the soft surface of my bed. The last thing I remembered was Usui's fist sinking into Ankoku's cheek.

It was pitch black after that.

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><p><strong>Definitely did not see that coming, did you? Love triangle! What will happen next?<strong>

**Please review~~**


	16. Chapter 16

**Another short one. I'm sorry. But I think the size of the chapter is just right because the chapter only talks about a small thing, which will lead to a huge thing later on.**

**But on the positive side, I'm starting to update daily again! Hell yeah!**

**So... What to share with you guys...**

**Oh! I officially joined the drama club.**

**That's all, I guess... -I have a feeling that my life is getting more and more boring each day...-**

**Reviews:**

**violetshade: Everyone loves a love triangle~**

**Spicylicious: Oh, haha, okay then. ;)**

**kyofan101: Maybeeeeee he does. Maybeeeeeee he doesn't. Maybeeeeee he could read minds O.O Maybeeeeee I should stop using so many 'e's.**

**fateMoon: Of course, everybody does! :p**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: I don't think anybody did. Lol.**

**Fafy x3: Thanksss :s**

**Sarah: I know right! I just love the suspense!**

**Lost Grey Soul: Such a... _Straight forward_ title.**

***Drumrolls* Here's your chapter 16!**

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><p>Cool air licked my skin as I blinked open my eyes, looking directly at two worried emerald green orbs that hovered above me.<p>

"Ayuzawa," Usui sighed in relief while moving away from my face. "You have no idea how worried I was when you passed out."

I was lying down on my bed, still in my uniform. Everything in the room was the same, only now the window was looking out to a vast black sky instead of a light blue one, so the room was dark except for the small study light on my table.

Oh, and Ankoku wasn't there anymore.

"I… I'm sorry," I sat up…

… And almost passed out again when I felt the agonizing pain shooting up to my nervous system.

"Tsck," I flinched while vigorously rubbing my temples.

You know that there are two kinds of pain, right? The exterior pain and the interior pain. The former is that pain you feel when you accidentally – or purposely, if you're an idiot like Usui – scratched yourself. The latter is that pain you feel when someone – or yourself if you just have nothing else better to do – jab a thumb onto a really deep bruise.

Want another example for internal pain? Try falling head-first from your bed to your not-carpeted floor. You'll get a freaking huge bump on your head. Then, with a rock or anything of the sort, press the bump real hard like your life depends on it.

Can you imagine the pain?

If not, you need to get out more. If yes, then you know how I was feeling.

Only worse, because I was having both the internal and external pain. And I had no idea why I was feeling the latter.

"Careful. You should lie down," Usui said while patting my pillow. He was sitting on the floor beside my head. "You hit your head on the window sill when you fainted."

Still didn't explain the exterior pain, but I was too worn out to ask questions. All I wanted to do was to eat a hot bowl of instant noodles, get all of my old stuffed toys on my bed and fall to slumber in the middle of my furry non-living friends.

"So," I managed to mutter out, "what happened after I passed out?" I closed my eyes and lifted a hand to cover my eyes.

"I managed to break his nose before he could do anything. Then I showed him the way out," he said while his fingers danced on my exposed cheek.

"Somehow, I can't imagine Ankoku getting out in his own will," I yawned.

"That's because he didn't do it in his own will," Usui said nonchalantly.

"I'm surprised my room is still in one piece," I let out a humorless laugh. I was too tired for humor.

Then a disgusting sound erupted from my empty stomach. But I was too tired to be embarrassed.

"Well, I'll be down to cook you dinner, then. Call me if you need me," he stood up, planted a kiss on my forehead and went out of the room.

As the footsteps disappear, I placed my hand to my side and stared up to the ceiling of my room. I thought about what just happened a couple hours ago.

"_I like you, Ayuzawa Misaki,"_ _his_ voice echoed in my head, which was getting better after all the lying-down-and-do-nothing stuff.

The look he had on his face… It was as if he was serious about what he said. But that was impossible, was it? Could it be possible that the guy actually _liked_ me just after half a day of meeting me?

For a normal 16 year old girl, the answer would be a no.

But for me, the answer would be a maybe, because in the course of my life, I've seen things weirder than a guy falling for a demon girl in the first sight. Like, for instance, a ghost of my boyfriend.

Out of everything that I should be feeling right then, I felt worried. When other girls would be screaming their lungs out after knowing that a guy – especially someone as good looking as Ankoku – liked them. But not me, I was there _worrying_.

What if what he said was true? Then there would be like a love triangle between him, Usui and me. And with all my work, I didn't need anything else to add to the weight.

Then there would be the fight between Usui and Ankoku. And I would be stuck in the middle. Well, that would be pleasing…

…_Not_.

Being stuck in the middle is not – and never will – be pleasing.

Here are some examples for you: a) Sitting in the middle of the 2nd row of your car is never pleasant. b) Being stuck in the middle of 2 oversized sumos is never pleasant. c) Being the middle child is not pleasant – at most cases, anyway.

Need more? No, I don't think so.

So let me review all the stress I was having – and was going to have. First, my boyfriend was dead. Second, there was a new guy in my school who could see ghosts and control them and who had sexually harassed me not 24 hours ago. Then the same guy said that he likes me. And last but not least painful in the butt, there might be a love triangle between a perverted ghost controller, a member of the Undead and a demon from hell who has the worst of luck.

Could my life possibly get any worse than _that_?

"Ayuzawa," Usui called from the kitchen downstairs. "Dinner's ready. Do you want me to bring it up?"

I grunted and shot up from my bed, my head feeling a hundred times better, and went down.

As for that previous question, we would just have to wait and see for ourselves.

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><p><strong>Grumpy Misaki ftw~<strong>

**And I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to my readers and reviewers out there who had been so kind to read and even review my work. It has been a while since I said thanks to everyone at once like this :p**

**And, as usual...**

**PLEASE REVIEWWW**


	17. Chapter 17

**I am so terribly sorry that I didn't update for 4-5 days. I was really busy these days. My secretary didn't come for the whole week, so I needed to fill her in. And I'm also the one who plans my teacher's huge surprise party in another week, so that definitely took a lot of my time. Because while I was doing my secretary's job, my classmates planned what we're still missing, and it was a chaos. So in the end, I needed to re-plan what they planned from the beginning again.**

**And then I had Student Council meeting everyday at recess, lunch and after school. I even skipped classes for the meetings. We were dealing with one of our Event Organizers that doesn't have the values of an EO (nor does he have the values of a moral person), so we (the Student Council) decided it would be wiser if we just kicked him out of the team.**

**And because my school gave us a 4 day holiday for Chinese New Year, the teachers were giving us piles and piles of homework that are due the very first day after the break.**

**So again, I'm sorry. I probably won't be updating daily for the rest of the month, too. January is so packed up that I didn't have time to go write chapters for you guys. Sorry :'(**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah: Your imagination is surely running wild o.O**

**fateMoon: Yeah, I was planning to put Shintani in, but nah, what the hey, Misaki is going to blow up if I do that.**

**usuixmisaki: Really? Thanks! I write like that whenever I'm feeling cranky :p**

**Lost Grey Soul: No! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry if you go the wrong idea.**

**blackopalz21: Yay! New reader who reviews~~~**

**wolphy10: Disappear... That would make the plot too simple. I'm going to TWIST YOUR BRAIN! MUAHAHAHAHA-ak! I mean, I'm going to make a little twist in the plot here and there *smiles creepily***

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Aww, I'm so touched :') THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT READER! I want to hug you so badly! LOL**

**That's it! Oh, and I highly recommend you guys scan the replies I give to other people because sometimes I give some infos there that I forget to write separately.**

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><p>You know how awkward it is to be in a room with your boyfriend but you guys aren't talking, right? So you must know how I was feeling.<p>

I had just finished my omelet and was washing the dishes when annoyance filled me. When I was eating just 10 minutes ago, Usui had been staring at me the whole time, not once talking. And I was too hungry and tired to start a conversation, so the room was literally as peaceful as a graveyard.

I placed the wet plate on a wire cabinet hung on top of the sink and walked out to the living room, where I left Usui to wash the plates and eating utensils, while wiping my wet palms with a paper towel.

Usui, I saw, was crouching down, his head rested on top of his crossed arms on the wooden table. But since his back was facing me, I couldn't see what he was doing.

I discarded the paper towel to the trashcan beside me and inched towards Usui. I sat on the floor across from a sleeping ghost.

You read that right. He was _sleeping._ And he was so freaking _cute!_

His eyes were lightly closed, showing his unbelievably long eye lashes – I wonder how I could have missed it before. His mouth was slightly open, making him look even adorable. His blond hair fell onto the table, still emitting that glow that made it look even more like gold.

Usui had always been this 'hot and attractive' guy, but never a 'cute and lovable' guy. So imagine my surprise when I noticed that he actually looked _adorable_ while sleeping.

"Mmph…" He murmured in his sleep.

Could he be any cuter?

A smile crept on my face as I continued observing my boyfriend sleep talking. No words could describe how adorable he looked right then.

"Ayuzawa…"

I rested my chin on the hand I placed on the table and continued to stare at him. As I was taking in how perfect his hair was against his pale skin, how his long eyelashes were longer than mine, how irresistible his lips was half opened like that, I couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about. No doubt it was about me, since it _was_ my name he kept on murmuring. But was it a good dream? Or was it a nightmare?

Don't ask me why I thought he was having a nightmare, because I don't know. All I know was that, despite how cute – man, my vocabulary really is as bad as how Usui said it is, using this word over and over again – Usui looked like, his face showed a little bit of tension and fear.

"Don't…"

My eyes grew large as a knot appeared in my stomach. Yes, The Knot.

"Don't leave…"

So he _was_ having a nightmare. I thought so. But why was I leaving him in his dream? He knew that I would never – _ever_ – leave him, even if it means my life is at stake.

So what gives?

"Please… Don't… Leave me…"

Suddenly his hands turned into fists, clutched so tightly that his knuckles were paler than his skin.

"Ankoku…"

The Knot went from the size of an orange into the size of a pineapple. With its thorns.

"Please… Don't take her…"

His voice went from whispers to screams. Now I didn't think he looked that cute anymore. He looked more alarmed, more disturbed, more in pain.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until my lungs felt like it was going to blow up from the lack of air.

"Please!"

And his eyelids jerked open, his huge emerald eyes looking into my hazel ones.

There were tears in the corners of his eyes. He was panting – I believe I don't need to keep on repeating myself that he was still stuck with the breathing habit – heavily, like someone who just ran for a whole 5 miles without any breaks.

"Oh, Ayuzawa," he quickly straightened himself and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry…"

I straightened myself and asked, "Are you alright? You were sleep talking."

"Oh, I was?" He looked surprised and embarrassed in the same time; looking cute again.

"Yes, and you were calling out my name," I tried to look annoyed, but I guess I was too worried about what he dreamed about to actually feel disturbed that I was involved in his nightmare. "And you were pleading for me to not go. And you also called out to the lad."

Usui just stared at me with those emerald green eyes, an awkward smile on his face. His held his expression that read 'Oh God, I'm embarrassed to the roots of my hair' for a total of 2 minutes, literally.

"So," I leaned back a little, using my arms as leaning pillars, "what dream did you have?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

Yeah, Usui might have been a prince charming for girls, but he was _not_ gifted with the ability of lying. Not to me, anyway.

"I know you better than that. C'mon, spill," I cocked my head to the side.

For a second, he looked like he was going to say what he dreamed of, but then a smirk appeared and I knew for sure that whatever he was going to say, it was not what I asked for.

And I was right, because you know what he said?

"I will if you kiss me."

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><p><strong>Yes, it's kind of short. Sorry.<strong>

**Please review and help me make it to the end of this month without going to the ER for brain explosion.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I have no idea why, but it seemed so hard to write this week. I worked my asi used my-eek, I mean, _backside_ off writing my 2 writing assignments for English a week before, and when I tried to write chapters for this, it seemed so hard! It's like I used so much skills in my assignments that I had none left to write FFs.**

**It's weird.**

**Well, I'm in the middle of my dinner right now, so I can't really say anything else. Byee.**

**Reviews:**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Thankssss :3**

**ShadowKiss123: Of course you may call me Kaichou! I'm honored to be addressed as Kaichou :D**

**kyofan101: Sorry I didn't get to reply your review :( It's just that, I don't have the time to reply to ALL reviews, you know?**

**Sarah: Naw, your imagination is what makes you... Well, _you_, you know? Hahaha :p**

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><p>I don't know what got in to me, but the moment he said it, I did it.<p>

I straightened myself, glaring at him. He was still smirking, as if he thought I would never do what he had asked me to do. Well, he was wrong.

I took in a lungful of air, and slowly exhaled. He raised both eyebrows, probably wondering what I was doing. My hand quickly shot out and clutched a handful of his pale blue V-neck shirt – the same one he had wore when he died – and pulled him towards me.

Good thing the table wasn't that long. If it was, then I would have probably crushed his stomach against the side of the table.

And our lips met.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good kiss. A great one, even. Too bad I just had to feel a blow of fatigue from my spine up to my nervous system right then, right there.

And guess what happened next?

I blacked out.

xXx

I blinked my eyes open, feeling worse than that time where I had a concussion – long story, long story. My head was pounding, my arms and legs felt like they just got beaten up by a wrestler and my back. God, my back was killing me.

As my vision cleared, I realized that I was no longer in the living room. I was in my room, on my bed, beside Usui-

Usui!

He was sleeping on his side beside me, his front facing me. I believe I don't need to repeat how he looked like asleep. It's pretty much the same, cute and adorable.

I shifted onto my side, facing him. He was in a fetal position; his arms were cutely curled on his chest, his elbows touching his knees.

I felt a sudden rush of peace inside of me, as if everything would be fine from that point on. But, of course, I knew better than to believe in my feelings. Because I knew for a fact that _nothing_ would be fine; _everything_ would be messed up from that point on.

And I just had to suck it up and deal with it, like how I have been dealing with my life for the last 10 years.

Yeah, it had been hard on me.

But instead of rolling back onto my back and go back to sleep, I stayed in my position. I thought, since it was going to be messed up for the rest of the… I don't know, 4 weeks? I might just as well enjoy myself for a night before the whole messed up journey begins.

And by enjoying myself, I meant staring at a blond guy in the middle of his sleep.

I know, I'm pathetic.

I continued to stare at Usui with my eyes half-opened. I felt like throwing my arms around him and use him as my bolster for that night. But, of course, I didn't. I still had _some_ self control in me, you know.

But I couldn't help but to smile at how cute – again with that word – he looked. He was just so _freaking cute!_ It almost made me relax and forget all the stress I was having at that time. _Almost_.

I curled myself up into a fetal position myself and let my forehead touch Usui's. Our knees touching each other, I closed my eyes and let the peacefulness engulf my mind and soul.

Yeah, such fancy and calming words I used there. Wish those words were enough to calm me down.

I breathed in deeply, and exhaled slowly. While I didn't get Usui's scent when I breathed, which was an utter disappointment, I did feel better. Just knowing that he was there beside me lifted some weight off my shoulders, but not all. Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Now that I had some inner peace in me, I didn't really care what was to come in the future. Because I know that I had Usui by my side, always.

Just when I was about to fall asleep again, the blond woke up.

"Well, what a surprise, Pres," Usui said. And even though my eyes were closed, I knew that a smirk was growing on his face.

Typical.

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><p><strong>Please review~~~<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**Heyyy! I actually finished this chapter 2 days ago, but I had trouble uploading it to the site. I'm really sorry that the length of the chapters were kind of short this month, it's just that I had too much things on my hands to be writing chapters. Sorry.**

**Guess what? After months of searching and hunting down bookstores, I FINALLY found the first, third and sixth book of Maximum Ride! They were HARD to find. Ahhh, so happy~**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah: Usui and Misaki are just perfect for each other~**

**fateMoon: She fainted because she was exhausted.**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: I'll stare at a sleeping Usui, too, if I get the chance :p**

**Lost Grey Soul: Aww, you read my profile! Thank you! Personally, I didn't think anyone would bother to read my profile. LOL. Oh, right, your question. Umm, I don't know. The four languages that I can read (and speak in) are Indonesian, English, Chinese and Japanese. I have to be able to speak Indonesian, since I'm living in Indonesia. And for English, well, I study in an International school since I started going to school. And the school has a rule that you MUST speak English at all times, except in Indonesian class and Chinese class. Which brings me to my next language. Chinese. I have Chinese classes at school, so... Yeah... As for Japanese, I had a tutor last year. But I stopped, though. Student Council gave me too much work to continue my Japanese classes...**

**I"M NOT HELPING AT ALL, AM I? Huh... Well, I guess the only suggestion I can give you right now is patience. I believe French is indeed a hard language to learn and that you need a lot of patience and time to be able to speak the language.**

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><p>After such an exhausting day and night, you would think that a girl would be cranky the next day. But I felt amazing.<p>

I'm not even lying to you, I felt like I could punch some punk ass's butt all the way to Argentina. And I haven't even had my breakfast.

Awesome.

I literally jumped off my bed, making my comforter fall on the ground, and ran down the stairs to the kitchen, where I found Usui making my morning breakfast.

"Well, hello sleepy beauty. I hope you don't mind toasts for breakfast. I woke up late and didn't really have the time to make anything else," he smiled at me weakly. It was evident on his face that he just woke up.

And that was whose fault that Usui didn't get that much sleep last night? Right, his. If he didn't wake up and started teasing me for the position I was in, he would've gotten enough sleep.

But I decided it would be wise of me to not bring that up that early in the morning.

So instead, I said, with a weak smile on my face and my eyes barely opened, "Toasts are fine."

I made my way to the dining table behind Usui and took a sit. I waited for the toasts while lacing my fingers together in different ways on my lap. It was then when I realized something odd.

"Usui, why am I in my PJs?" I asked him. "Because – unless I have the curse of sleepwalking, which I highly doubt – I don't remember changing at all."

Okay, so I wasn't really in my PJs. Because, of course, I didn't have any. I was in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, which I always wear every night to replace my lacking of pajamas.

"Oh, right. I changed you into it. Hope you don't mind," he said without even turning back at me.

Literally my jaw dropped in disgust and shock. How could he say such a thing in such a nonchalant manner?

And worst of it all, _how could he do such an embarrassing thing to me?_

"Wha – wha – whaa," I stammered, my eye twitching.

Usui Takumi, a perverted alien, _changed my clothes for me_.

Now, if that doesn't give your stomach a punch then you haven't been paying attention enough.

"Relax, I didn't see you when I was changing you," he said while the toaster popped. "Oh, your breakfast is ready."

Okay, so he _didn't_ see me. How was that even possible?

"How is that possible, you ask?" He voiced out my thought – like how he _always_ did – while turning around to face me with a plate holding a stack of toasts in his right hand. That was when I realized that he wasn't wearing his V-neck shirt anymore. Instead, he was wearing his Seika uniform.

"Being a ghost that I am now, I'm also blessed with the ability of moving stuff without actually touching or even _looking_ at it. Being a ghost isn't just all hanging around and haunting people, you know," he placed down the plate in front of me and went back to the sink to wash his hands.

Well, that was a relief.

"Okay… And, mind to explain why you are in your uniform?" I asked while picking up a toast. It was crisp and had the slight shade of brown going horizontal across the bread. I looked at the sides of the toast and saw creamy-yet-solid butter starting to roll down the crust of the bread. Nyum.

"Nothing, just bored with V-necks," he answered while turning back to me.

"Oh yeah, and a uniform is _so_ much more interesting than a V-neck," I munched on my toast, feeling the butter melt on my tongue.

He just sighed lightly and smiled at me weakly.

"Where did you even get your uniform?" I asked as he sat across from me.

"I visited my apartment yesterday after placing you on your bed."

Right, his apartment.

"Umm, Usui. Not being rude or anything, but since you're… _Dead_, what should we do with the stuff in your apartment? And your apartment itself?" I asked.

"Nah, we'll just leave it as it is. Besides, the Walkers are the ones paying for the suite, anyway. If we sell the apartment, then they'll suspect a thing and come after you. And I do not want to know what happens after that," he shivered.

"Is that so…" I looked down at the plate of toasts and lifted it up. "You want?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure," he took one and started eating it. "You should probably get ready soon. It's already 5: 50. School starts at 6: 20, remember? And considering that you walk as slow as a snail – if not slower – you only have around 10 minutes to get ready," he nodded to the watch around his left wrist.

I muttered a cuss word, ran upstairs, got ready, ran back downstairs, shoved 2 more toasts inside my mouth and ran outside.

"Have fun!" I heard Usui shout from behind.

"I hate you!" I shouted back. Only, with the toasts in my mouth, it sounded like, "_Mou hmuate woo!"_

I hated him a_ lot._

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><p><strong>Oh, and I wrote quite a few stories for my English assignments. If you guys don't have anything to do, please do drop by and read my stories in the following URLs (please remove the spaces):<strong>

**http: / www. fictionpress . com/s/2992275/1/Victim_of_Abduction**

**http: / www. fictionpress. com/s/2992277/1/All_Too_Late_For_Regrets**

**http: / www. fictionpress. com/s/2992279/1/Eavesdropping**

**And maybe drop a review?**

**Please review this one first, though :p**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hiya! Got you another chapter!**

**So, today was my teacher's birthday and all, and I've been planning to surprise him all 2 weeks. And the party was a success! He loved his presents and he said that it was the best and the most meaningful present he ever gotten. Now, if I hadn't told you what I gave to my teacher, I won't tell you what it was. Basically, it's a present he will never get with money or other stuff, since it's made by the whole school, more or less.**

**He even said that the cake that we got him was the best he had in his _life_. How freaking cool is THAT?**

**And again, I'm sorry for the length of this chapter. But I love you guys for still reading even though the length of my writings aren't consistent.**

**Reviews:**

**kyofan101: He's a pervert and proud. LOL.**

**usuixmisaki: Oh! You had finals last week? Where are you living? Australia? Canada?**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Are you still pen-paling? I never pen-palled in my life before, so it's kind of cool to hear that I know people who pen-pals. OMG, you can speak Spanish? Eres increíble!**

**Sarah: LOL! Thanks for reading! I didn't know! Wow, you've been with me for a _long_ time, huh? So loyal! I LOVE YOU!**

**fateMoon: I don't want to spoil it for you!**

**angelKWMSfan17: Thanks! And yes, I am an Indonesian.**

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><p>Don't believe Usui when he said that I walked as slow as a snail. Because that morning, I only took 7 minutes to run to school, which is saying something since the school was a good 2 and a half kilometers away from my house.<p>

I arrived to school with minutes to spare. I calmly walked in the hallway, trying to slow my heartbeat down. My heart was beating so hard that it was going to break my ribs any minute.

"Good morning, Pres!" Yukimura greeted me as I walked pass him.

"Morning, Yukimura," I smiled at him and continued walking to class.

Seeing the students so neat and organized made my mood, which was this close from being insanely cranky, brighter. It had been a while since I last chided someone for running in the hallways or violating the school dress code.

I opened the door of my class. With a smile still on y face, I walked towards my desk.

Inside, I thought about what could possibly go –

My smile disappeared when I saw Ankoku sitting on the desk nearest to the window. A.k.a. _my desk_. He was drumming his fingers on the wooden table, his eyes looking down at an opened book on the table.

I breathed in a deep breath and continued walking towards the table behind him. I cursed silently while doing so.

He took the best seat in class! While, normally, the best seat in class for other kids is the one that can't be seen by the teacher easily, for me the best seat in class was the one with the best view of the sky.

And Ankoku just _took it_.

I pretended that he wasn't there and walked right past him. But right when I was beside him, he said, "Finally, you arrived. I was waiting, you know?"

I ignored him and continued to walk to the desk with the second best view of the sky. My plan would work, if Ankoku hadn't stick out his hand and gripped my wrist so hard that I thought it was going to fall off.

"What do you want?" I asked bitterly.

"It's simple, actually," he said.

"Get to the point."

Then he pulled me towards him, not gently either. I used all the power I had to not crash onto his face.

"I want you to go to a party held by a friend of mine tonight," he whispered in my ear, before nipping my earlobe.

All the hair on my body stood up as my body shivered. I quickly pulled myself away from him, almost knocking down the table behind me, after letting out a small shriek or horror and disgust.

I tried to remain calm and said, "That's naïve of you to think that I'll go."

"Well, I thought you might say that. That's why I have this," he picked up the book he was reading before.

I squinted at the book, the page it was at. I felt a pang in my gut.

"Oh no, you don't," I stared horrifically at him as all the blood disappeared from my face.

A smirk appeared on his face. "Oh yes, I do."

"You won't dare." My breaths became short and shallow.

"Well, that's naïve of _you_ to assume that I won't dare."

"So, if you don't behave and do as I say, you'll just have to say goodbye to Mr. Blondie."

I reread the page and my eyes became dry as bone. Because right at the page where his fingers were pressing, it showed how one can exorcise a spirit of the Undead.

And I didn't need a genius to tell me who he was planning to exorcise.

"Well, I'll pick you up at 7. I'll send you a dress afterschool; expect it at around 4 to 5. See you," he stood up and walked out of the room with a smug expression plastered on his face.

I thanked God Usui wasn't there to witness all that, or else the World War 3 would start right there, right then. Only this time, it would be the living versus the Undead, summoned by _Mr. Blondie_ himself.

I sighed and sat on the seat Ankoku just sat on and scratched my head vigorously. I had a feeling that the week was going to be more complicated than I so naively thought.

God, I need to find another word for naïve.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey! Got you a longer chapter! Well, it isn't as long as chapter 6 or 7, but it's definitely longer than the few recent ones.**

**I won't waste your time by writing things you obviously don't care about, since I need to finish my Student Council work. So, let's go to the reviews, shall we?**

**Reviews:**

**Kyofan101: Kind-hearted and pervert can never be together o.O**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: He'll go haunt you in your room if you do that. *wooooo***

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Aww, thanks! And thank you for taking the time to review too! (THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU REVIEWERS!)**

**Lost Grey Soul: Because you're just like Misaki who can't use another word to replace 'naive'? LOL jkjk**

**Sarah: IKR! I wanted to penpal with people so bad, but I just can't find the way to get their infos and stuff like that.**

**fateMoon: Not exactly. He's the most brilliant antagonist character I came up until now. (Sorry for all the people who liked Minami better than Ankoku. I just think that Ankoku was better planned and all than Minami. But I still like both of them, though.)**

****cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Yep. He's blackmailing her alright. Muchas Gracias! LOL, I only understand the part where you said I'm a great writer :p Never been good with Spanish, only learned it through the Internet.****

****blackopalz21: Oh right, I did make that mistake. Lousy me. Thanks for pointing that out! And, really? Most good fanfic authors are Indonesian? Well, thanks for the compliment, but most of us Indonesians are bad at grammar... :( Besides, I love American authors! You guys are so GOOD in your grammar and sentence structures!****

****usuixmisaki: OMG! I have so much U.S. readers! I LOVE YOU GUYS! *squeals and faints*(I LOVE YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU**** AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU******** AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU... You guys get my point. I LOVE ALL OF YOU!)********

********DarkkAngelll: We are all naive people! LOL********

********angelKWMSfan17: Yep, Java island. Jakarta, specifically.********

********Al-Orange Ninja: Amazingness B-) LOL********

**I'm feeling so happy right now that I went all the way and answer all the reviews! -I have no idea why I'm feeling so relaxed... It's unusually weird...-**

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><p>"How was school?" Usui asked as soon as I stepped in my room. He was sitting on my bed, his back leaning on the wall just beside the window, reading one of the books that I had borrowed from the library to keep him company while I was in school. And guess which book he read the first?<p>

The _romance_ novel, which I will not state out its name since it'll embarrass me to death to let other people – aside from Usui and the librarian – know that I actually borrowed that book.

"Good. As good as a school can be, anyway," I placed my book bag down leaning against the wall beside the door frame and sat down beside Usui on my bed.

He closed the book and placed it down beside him. "So spill, why was there a package containing a _dress_ addressed to you, signed by 'Your Date'?"

I won't lie to you, at that time I really didn't know what he was talking about.

"What package?" I asked him.

Usui looked at me with a pair of cold emerald eyes that made my heart sank. He looked angry and was ready to smack someone right on the skull and crack open their brains.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense and heavy as I scooted away from him.

Hey, don't blame me. He looked as if he was ready to smack _my_ skull and crack open _my_ brain! Can you possibly blame me for wanting to get a _little_ space between us?

"W-what pack-package?" I repeated myself, with more fear in my voice.

"I don't know, I was hoping you can tell me," he said, sarcasm and coldness filled his voice.

And then suddenly, a white box, the size of human weight scale, fell onto my lap. And not gently, either.

The slightly opened box was fancy looking and it had a heck lot of frills and red roses all over it. In between a rose and a lace laid a card that read, "To Ms. Ayuzawa Misaki. Love, Your Date."

I picked up the card, unfolded it and started reading – not out loud, though, because I had a feeling that Usui already read what was inside and didn't need a reminder or it.

"_Misaki, here's the dress I mentioned earlier. I'll pick you up at 6, an hour earlier than what we had agreed on. We'll go to my place first and have dinner, and then we can go on our date. I'm sure you wouldn't mind. The schedule will still be the same after that, just like we agreed on. I love you."_

No wonder Usui was so pissed off. Even _my_ blood boiled when I read the note. Because:

The note was nothing but a huge _lie_; and

Receiving a not-so-anonymous note saying 'I love you' in front of your boyfriend is embarrassing and traitor-like.

I silently cursed that blackmailing pervert. He said he was going to send it at 5! And what time was it? Right, a quarter to 3.

I mean, yeah Usui's anger was inevitable. Even an idiot knew that. But if Ankoku had sent it at 5 – like how he promised – at least I got some time to make up a lie.

I peered over the paper and saw Usui's hand clenched into a fist so hard that his knuckles were paler than his skin. And ghosts have _really_ pale skin.

"Who's your date for tonight?" He asked abruptly. "Where are you two going?"

My whole body was trembling like crazy as I placed the card down onto the box. I couldn't possibly say that I would be going out with Ankoku to a party with a freaking _dress code_. He would blow up right there and spray ghost guts all over me. Now that wouldn't be pretty, I tell you.

"Who are you going with tonight?" He asked again with even more coldness in his voice. "And where?"

I pressed my lips together and remained sient.

I guessed he finally had enough of silence since the next second I knew, he was in front of me, his hands pressing my shoulders against the wall. My head hit a bit of the window frame with a loud 'bump'. I knew it was supposed to hurt, but I couldn't care less about the temporary pain when I was pressed onto the wall by an angry ghost. Most importantly, _my_ angry ghost _boyfriend_.

"Ayuzawa," he looked into my eyes. His eyes were so sharp that I thought my eyes were jabbed by knives. "Answer me."

I felt my eyes tearing up and my breaths became shorter and much shallower than before. I didn't know which finally made me cry; the fear that came when Usui suddenly used that cold eyes and voice on me, the guilt for betraying Usui like that, the anger I had inside for Ankoku, the growing stress inside of me for having to face this kind of unusual problem that couldn't be solved just by simply googling it up, the embarrassment for being caught _'cheating'_ by my own boyfriend or maybe all of it. The fear, guilt, anger, stress and embarrassment.

I had enough.

When all the feelings were clear, I felt like breaking down and cry until my eyes were swollen like a bee sting.

I had enough.

I was sick and tired of needing to be responsible of the shit that people do. I was sick of needing to keep all my problems to myself and yet have to deal with other people's dilemma. I was sick of needing to ignore my own feelings just to keep others safe or happy. I was sick of being the girl of this messed up '_love triangle_'.

I had enough.

So you know what I did next?

I used all my power to wrench myself away from Usui's hands and hugged him tight, my head on his chest.

"Usui," I sobbed against his uniform, "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

Usui, not expecting what I did, just sat there like a stone.

"I… I agreed… To… To go with…" I sucked in a lungful of air, before spitting out the name of the person I officially despised most. "_Ankoku_."

Usui, upon hearing what I just said, immediately jumped out of my embrace and stood by his feet on the floor.

"You _what?_" He asked as I fell face-first onto my bed.

I straightened myself and wiped the tears that managed to leak out of my eyes. I didn't think I could manage to say anything else, so I murmured, "I… I'm sorry."

I kept my head low the whole time; I didn't have the courage to look up into the face I knew for sure that was full of hurt and coldness.

"But why?" His voice was filled with pain.

I couldn't possibly say that the reason for my date was to protect him from going to Netherland. He wouldn't take Ankoku's threat seriously and suggest that I ignore him for the rest of my life.

And besides, I knew all too well what Ankoku would do if he found out I'd narced on him.

"I… I'm sorry…"

From the corner of my eyes, I saw that Usui shook his head and dematerialized, leaving a glittery shimmer at the space he had left.

Oh, and a sobbing girl with a date she needed to attend at 6.

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><p><strong>I won't even lie to you, I shivered and got scared when I imagined the scene in my head. The coldness and the dark aura... The cold Usui...<strong>

**ANYWAY, please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi! I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded for a whole freaking week! I've been caught up with Student Council work this whole week. My school is holding up this pre-ordering of roses that will be sent by 'cupids' at the 14th of February. And we got a BUNCH of orders. And not only that I had to deal with the orders from school, I also needed to deal with the orders I got via private messaging. It was tiring, I tell you.**

**Well, it's finally over today! Just need to assign the cupids and pack the flowers and I can finally have my good night sleep, which I have been lacking of since the start of January.**

**Reviews:**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Aww, thanks! Here you go! Another update!**

**fateMoon: My heart ached, too, when I wrote it :'(**

**angelKWMSfan17: I don't want to break the surprise for you :)**

**Lost Grey Soul: I stated why Misaki couldn't tell Usui the reason, didn't I? Well, anyways, I love reading your reviews too!**

**Sarah: Oh the irony... LOL**

**usuixmisaki: Agreed. I love the perverted, playful Usui too.**

**Al-Orange Ninja: Thanks! But why would I abandon this story? I LOVE this plot.**

**kyofan101: Because if she told him, Usui would just ask her to ignore Ankoku.**

**JazzyS: I'm sorry I didn't get to update sooner..**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Naked in Antarctica... You've got that right.**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: LOL.**

**DestinyAndFaith: It's okay. I know how you feel. I was new to Fan fiction a couple of months ago, too! LOL**

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><p>I shouldn't lie just to get you guys hate Ankoku. The dress was actually really pretty. It was strapless, which definitely made my blood boil. But aside from that, the dress was cute. It was a loose bilk-white dress, covering down to the knees. And to complement the dress, a strip of black velvet was strapped under the chest to add a little bit of fanciness. Just a little bit. Exactly how I liked it.<p>

I wore to the pair of shiny black heels – at least 2 and a half inches high – that came along in the box and brought along a small black purse.

Modesty. The less extravagant, the better.

It was 5 minutes to 6 and I was ready to face hell. I went down the stairs, the heels I wore making those annoying clicking sounds against the wood, and waited in the kitchen for Ankoku to show up and tease me about how Usui reacted when he realized that I was going out with him.

Not a breath after I had sat down on a chair, a car honk sounded. I sullenly stood up, cursing under my breath for agreeing to have a date with that guy. But what I felt most as I walked towards the front door was guilt. What would happen if Usui was to appear right there and see me in such a revealing dress? Heck, what would happen if Usui was to see me slide in a car, in the revealing dress, together with Ankoku?

Chaos, that's what would happen.

"Now, aren't you beautiful," Ankoku let out a low whistle and smiled at me the moment I stepped out of the house.

"Shut up," I glared at him while stomping towards the limo beside him.

My heart was beating hard against my rib cage. And my stomach was full of those nauseating knots. I felt like hurling on the tux Ankoku was wearing. And just for a second, it seemed like a great idea.

"Your beauty must be complimented, Misaki," he chuckled.

And then I felt his hand snaking its way to my bare shoulder.

"You dare lay a finger on me tonight and I swear I'll make you regret ever being born. Am I clear?" I said through gritted teeth.

I only hope he hadn't realize how bad I was shaking because of his touch. The space where his hands were on was burning hot.

Ankoku quickly pulled his hand away, as if my skin had suddenly caught on fire.

Yeah, that's right. I still got it.

But the my joy didn't last for long, because Ankoku had only let go of my shoulder only so he could place it around my waist.

"I said – " I started, my body shaking even more vigorously.

"Yeah, I heard you. You said, _'You dare lay a finger on me tonight and I swear I'll make you regret ever being born'_," he imitated me in a tone that was totally not like mine. "But what made you think that I was techinically _born_?"

Eh?

Seeing the confused look on my face, he sighed and decided to explain the whole thing in that tone adults use to teach kindergarden students, which, you know, I _so_ loved.

"What made you think that I had spent 10 months in my mother's womb?"

I still didn't get it. "Umm... So, you stayed for 10 months in your _dad's_ belly?"

Don't blame me for being so full of nonsense. I didn't get his question. Not even a bit.

He slapped his forehead and said, "No. What I meant was, what made you think I ever had parents who made me and raised me up?"

He must'd been really pissed off. I mean, he intended that question to scare me or at least have that kind of dramatic pause or something. But he ended up needing to explain the whole thing to me.

"You're human, that's why," I said while stepping in the door of the car which Ankoku had been so kind to open. I was not taking any risks of being seen by Usui with Mr. Ghost Controller.

I crossed my legs, which, unfortunately, made my dress hike up a bit.

"Really?" Ankoku placed his hand on the car top and leaned his face down so that the space between our noses was less than an inch. "Am I really?"

Oh, of course he wasn't human. He was the prone of satan, remember? Stupid me.

I used my 'what bullshit are you saying' eyes and asked, in my best intimidating tone, "What game are you playing, Fiji?"

I saw the corner of his mouth twitch before he said, "Nothing."

Then I saw the most gut-wrenching view I could possibly see.

I held my breath, because through the space below Ankoku's arm was a glowing figure. And even though I couldn't really see all the details of the figure, since it was standing on my garden 20 feet away and canopied by branches from the tree beside it, I didn't need a telescope to know who it was.

After all, how many glowing stalkers did I have? Heck, how many glowing figures were there in the block? Did those narrow it down?

I clenched the hem of my dress as the figure, looking hurt, shook his head and disappeared with a shimmer.

"What made you think I am playing a game?" Ankoku's voice barged in my thoughts.

"Just get in the car..." I sighed.

This was going to be a long night for me.

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><p><strong>Please review and pray for a faster update!<strong>

**Oh, and btw, I'm planning on writing another one-shot for Valentines. Do you guys like my previous one-shot and think that I should probably write another one?**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hiyaa! Got another chapter for you!**

**Now, I want to warn you first. This chapter may have sudden outbursts and a few grammar errors or typos. It was midnight when I wrote this, so please forgive me. If you find any errors in this chapter, please do tell me through reviews!**

**And I'm already planning on the story I'm going to write for Valentines. I find it really cute so I can't wait to update it here!**

**Reviews:**

**angelKWMSfan17: My house, I hope. XD**

**choco-chan143: Thankssss!**

**Lost Grey Soul: I know, I know. But I guess that's how it works in that kind of situation.**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Well, here's a long one!**

**fateMoon: Aww, thanks!**

**DarkkAngelll: LOL.**

**kyofan101: LOLLLLL. Good thinking on your part for censoring that last part ;)**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: What a plot you've got there :p**

**DestinyAndFaith: XDDDDD**

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><p>"What a beautiful young lady you've got there, Fiji-san. Is she your girlfriend?" One guy with a fancy looking mustache asked Ankoku while eyeing me.<p>

"No," I said at the same time as Ankoku said, "Yes."

I glared at him. But what I got in return was his smug face.

"Why, of course you are, my dearest Misaki," he leaned down and planted a disgusting kiss on my lips. To Mr. Mustache, he said, "She just doesn't like it when people call her my 'girlfriend'."

I felt that churn in my stomach that meant my lunch was going to go out through my esophagus if Ankoku was to kiss me again. And guess where I would aim my puke to? That's right, Mr. Mustache's mustache.

"Well then, I'll leave you guys alone. Have a blast!" Mr. Mustache said before nodding to each of us and left.

When I couldn't see the penguin tux of Mr. Mustache anymore, I quickly wiped my lips and glared at Ankoku some more. No words could define how angry – and not to mention embarrassed – I was. In other words, I was pissed. A total understatement, but then again, I said that there were no words to describe how I felt. So yeah, let's go with pissed.

"That was the fifth time you kissed me tonight. You dare do it one more time and I swear I'll yank your throat out," I growled. "And what's with all the '_she's my girlfriend' _stuff? I am _not_ your girlfriend!"

"Well, I like saying you are," he grinned at me.

While I knew that he was teasing me by saying that, I couldn't help it but to notice the pain and crushed hope in his face. He looked…

Well, as if he actually meant it.

But then, that was impossible. Right? He was just joking around with me, right?

Yes, of course he was. He was nothing but a huge, stinky… Ass…

My thoughts trailed away as his bright blue eyes bore into my hazel ones. His eyes were grave and sincere and sad.

"Ankoku…" I muttered.

He snapped out of his daydreaming – more like night-dreaming, since it was 7 pm – and said, with a playful smile on his face, "Well, you haven't eaten dinner, have you?"

"I rather starve than go to your house," I murmured.

Ankoku chuckled and said, "Well, enjoy your meal then. I heard they serve great lamb chops. In the mean time, I'm going to talk to a friend of mine. Don't miss me too much, luv."

And I felt his lips on my bare shoulder.

My whole body shivered while my cheeks burned a bright red.

God, that was embarrassing.

But he was right, the place did serve great lamb chops. Too bad I didn't have the appetite to eat a whole lot of it. So after tasting a few, I decided to take a stroll out the garden outside the freaking mansion I was in.

It was dark and cold outside. Unlike inside, where the temperature was controlled so that it was actually comfortable, the temperature outside made my nose hurt. Mist appeared when I breathed out.

So imagine how I felt with only a piece of really revealing dress.

Yeah, not good.

I walked along the stone-paved path, admiring the different kinds of plants and stones and insects that were jumping from leaves to leaves. There was nothing in my mind. Just the coldness that bit my skin and the peacefulness of the night.

Nothing other than those mattered. Not then, anyway.

I sat down on a bench across from a small lake. The body of water reflected the light from the moon and the lamps all over the place. It was so peaceful just sitting there, staring at the lake, away from all the partying men and women in the building. Like nothing was going to go wrong, you know?

But that was when all hell in my brain broke loose. I started feeling the pain on my ankle again; thanks to the brand new heels Ankoku had bought me. The knots in my stomach appeared again, only thrice its original size. The anger, embarrassment and guilt started appearing again, all in the same time. And worst of it all, I still had a paper I needed to turn in tomorrow.

Frustrated, I yanked open the heels and set it beside my bare feet. I clenched and unclenched my bare toes, feeling the cold air seep through the spaces between them. With my eyes closed, I hung my head backwards and stared at the sky.

Why did Ankoku even asked me to go here, anyway? I was never good in a party before, much less a grand one like this.

God, I would need to stay up late again. It would be 12 by the time I get home, and then I need to get myself out from the dress and hair accessories. I silently thanked myself for not using that much of the pins that are _hell_ to take out. And as for makeup, I only wore a thin layer of lip gloss, so that would be easy to take off.

Then I would need to do that stinky paper and recheck it for errors. By the time I finish that, it would be at least 1 am. And that would leave me with only four and a half hours of sleep before I need to go to school again.

Why, oh why, must my life go on like this?

It was as I was reflecting over the stress I'd gone through in life that I heard a rustle. I turned my head just in time to catch Usui trying to dematerialize.

"Oh, no, you don't," I said, sitting up. "You come back here right now."

He came back, a sheepish expression on his face – that was really odd.

"What, you're only going to visit me now? You're not even going to _talk_ to me? Is that it?" I asked. This realization hurt, I discovered, way more than my ankles.

"I don't want to upset you," he said.

"What does seeing you have to do with upsetting me?" I clenched my fists on the metal bench.

I was hurt. I really was. I mean, I'd known Usui was mad at me for what I'd done – you know, that whole agreeing to go to a date with Ankoku – but not even to want to _talk _ to me anymore…

Well, that was harsh.

That hurt I felt must have shown in my face since when Usui spoke, it was the gentlest voice I'd ever heard him use.

"Ayuzawa," he said. "I –"

"No," I interrupted, feeling that hot, prickly feeling behind my eyes which meant that tears were building up. "Let me go first. Usui, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have agreed to go on this… _Date_. I should've ignored Ankoku. I should've told you everything. But I promise, Usui, that this is for a good cause. I'd agreed to go with him here for a good reason. One that I can't tell you right now. But I will, when I can."

I watched as his face turn from sad and angry to sad and guilty. And I knew why it was what it was.

I was crying. Tears were pouring down my face like rain.

"Ayuzawa," he reached out a hand to cup my cheek. But I pulled away.

"I am the worst girlfriend," I went on. Once I had the ball rolling, I find it really hard to stop it. "The worst one that ever lived. I know. I wish you could get a better one than me. The one that actually takes care of you. The one that can do all the stuff that girls do. I… I… I don't deserve you. I don't deserve your love…"

I looked into his eyes with my sad ones. Now he really looked guilty. It wasn't my intention to make him feel guilty. But what could I do? The flood of emotions needed to be unloaded from my mind. It was just his own damned luck that he was the person I decided to unload it to.

I stood up, grabbed my heels and started storming away from him.

"Ayuzawa!" He called out.

I ignored him and continued walking towards God knew where. Anywhere was better than there.

But just when I started running, Usui appeared right in front of me.

"What do you want?" I asked bitterly while wiping my cheeks with my freezing hand.

"I'm sorry, Ayuzawa," he grabbed my hands and kissed them.

My body was trembling like crazy because of the cold temperature and all the crying that I almost looked like a Chihuahua.

"You're freezing, Ayuzawa," he said while letting go of my hands to take off his tux and placing it loosely over my shoulders.

"T-thanks…" I gripped the tux tighter around myself with my shaking hands.

Usui sighed. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head, swaying a little in the rhythm of the brushing leaves.

"You deserve my love just fine," I heard him whisper again and again.

Slowly, I let go of the oversized – for me – tux and snaked my hands around Usui's waist, swaying together with him. My sobs slowed down into shudders and eventually stopped.

Just as I was about to pull away from him, thunder sounded.

"Eep!" I squealed as I clenched Usui's shirt tighter.

"Shut up!" I shouted after hearing Usui chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, trying to not laugh but couldn't.

After a few more thunders and a lot more of Usui's laugh, the first raindrop finally fell down. Then the whole sky of water fell down.

"Woops. Better get you inside," Usui let go of me and started pushing me gently towards the mansion. "Oh, and don't forget your slippers, Cinderella."

I chuckled and ran towards the mansion before my dress could get any more soaked, and, you know, slip down my body since it was strapless.

That wouldn't be too pretty or anything, you know?

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><p><strong>Pleashh Reviewww!<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**Hweeyy, it's been a while, huh? Well, I've been dealing with sudden bursts of tantrum inside my head. So, yeaaaaa.**

**And on top of that, I had - and still have - a heck lot of projects from my teachers. One of which I needed to measure my whole freaking house and draw a _scaled_ floor plan of it. And that's only one of many projects that are similar to it.**

**And then Student Council needs to prepare for the reelection of Student Council members for the next academic year, since the present Student Council is the first.**

**Get why I didn't get the chance to write chapters now?**

**Anyway, I posted the Valentines story days ago. So be sure to check that out. Its title: Every Girl's Dream**

**Reviews:**

**DarkkAngelll: Oh right, I did make that stupid grammar error. Thanks!**

**Al-Orange Ninja: Thanks.**

**kyofan101: Haha, you like _fluffay_ stuff, huh?**

**Lost Grey Soul: LOL.**

**usuixmisaki: Who doesn't want a bf like Usui?**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Heeheeh. Want a sneak peak at the ending, don't you, now?**

**fateMoon: You bet that's the most disgusting thing ever.**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: Maybe he really likes her, maybe not. :p**

**Sarah (Sarah9797): Hiii! I see you've got yourself an account there. Cool.**

**DeathBySugarCube: Not only that she would break the hearts of her fellow friends and family, but it's also not a guarantee that she will also end up hanging around in the world. After all, it is abnormal for spirits to stay in the human world. They're supposed to go to heaven, hell, reincarnation... I don't know. But not the human world. Can you imagine if all the spirits stay in the human world? The whole world would be haunted and psychics are going to be nuts.**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Ankoku is a hot villain. LOL.**

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><p>I quickly fastened the buckles on the heels as I arrived inside the mansion, praying that no one would catch me doing so.<p>

Fortunately, the dress I was wearing wasn't that soaked – but still pretty soaked, though – thanks to the huge tuxedo Usui had placed around me. But that didn't mean that my hair and face were protected from the evil drops of rain. Thanks to them, the raindrops, my hair was all over my face.

I went inside the ladies room – thank God it was empty, or else I would've scared all the ladies inside with my hair on my face like that – and redid my hairdo. And there is a reason why girls try to avoid rain as much as possible. It is hell to redo damp hair. Especially damp-with-rainwater hair.

After squeezing the excess water our and whipping my hair back and forth – don't sing – I decided it was time to probably show my face in the crowd. Ankoku must be wondering where I was.

Not that it mattered to me if Ankoku was wondering – and possibly getting worried – where I was. I couldn't care less about that guy.

"Where have you – Holy molly, Misaki. What happened to your hair? And where did you get that tux from?" Ankoku asked me, eyeing my hair, which looked as straight as an ironed shirt, and the wet tux draped on my shoulders.

"I went out, and it rained. And a kind gentleman gave me his tux to protect myself from the rain," I said, my teeth chattering. Even though the temperature inside wasn't as cold as the temperature outside, but with my hair wet with freezing water and my face semi-wet, it seemed as if I was naked in a room filled with ice.

"You'll get sick!" Ankoku said; his voice worried. "Come with me."

He dragged me up a huge, twisting stair case and into an even bigger room.

"Whose room is this?" Won't the owner mind us barging in like this?" I asked, taking in the cream colored walls, blotched with little white spots.

The room was ten times as big as my own. You could probably play soccer in the place with complete teams of eleven without any trouble. It was _that_ big.

"I'm the owner of the room. At least for tonight, anyway," Ankoku said, walking towards a cupboard the size of an Olympic swimming pool. "Ah, there you go."

I peered over his shoulders to see the contents of the cupboard. But the room was so dimly lighted – only by the moon seeping in from the windows and the small light bulbs around the perimeter of the room – that it was hard to even see where his shoulder was, much less the contents of some huge cupboard.

He pulled something out from the wooden cupboard and closed it. I squinted to see what it was, and my eyes widened. Because hanging on the velvet-covered, was a brown, slightly puffy dress that covered the neck, shoulders and arms until the wrist, leaving the chest part open. The hem of the dress was sweeping on the floor. It was the most beautiful thing I ever seen.

Aside from a _certain_ blond dude, but that's a whole different thing.

Ankoku turned towards me and handed me the dress, his face unreadable.

"Um, you better change into this. Your dress is soaked," he nodded to my wet dress. "I don't know if it will fit you or not, but it's the only dress in the cupboard."

"I'm fine with my dress. It's only a bit wet, I'm sure it will dry up in no time," I said, while lightly pushing the dress away.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the dress. I would _love_ to take it and wear it and see how cute I look in it. But then, of course, I couldn't. Because the dress was expensive, no doubt about that. Not only was it expensive, I also didn't know who wore it before. It could be new, or it could be a dress left by a dead girl.

And, you know, I wouldn't be too happy or anything if it was the latter.

"You're _very_ wet, Misaki. Go and wear the dress," Ankoku said, his patience running low.

I didn't move an inch, because, you know, I was still disturbed by the whole dead-woman's-dress thing.

Seeing the look on my face, Ankoku sighed and said, "Relax, it's new. The whole place is new. So don't worry, okay?"

My cheeks blushing red with embarrassment, I snatched the dress from him and said, "That's not what I was worried about, you idiot!"

Of course, a lie. But I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Um, you can't read minds, right?" I asked, just in case. The guy could see and control freaking _ghosts_ – well, unless if the ghost isn't as smart and strong as Usui, anyway – who was I to assume that he couldn't read minds too?

He looked surprised by my question and chuckled lightly. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"No reason," I replied quickly as I marched towards the bathroom in the far end of the room, just across the bed, wishing to be out of my soaked dress as fast as possible. It was freezing in the room.

As I was locking the bathroom door, I took another glimpse of the dress. Now that there was enough light to actually see all the details on the dress – thanks to the fancy light on the ceiling – the dress looked even more glamorous.

There was a belt made out of diamonds – I have no idea if it was fake or real – around the waist area. The part of the dress under the belt had small pieces of Swarovski sewn onto it. I can't even tell you how great it looked.

But best of all, it had _warm, dry sleeves_.

After putting the dress on and fixing my hair into a fancy and messy bun, I went out, enjoying the feel of the dress dragging along the carpeted floor. Ankoku was sitting on the bed, fixing his tie. I cleared my throat and he whirled around. And just fir a second, I think I saw his cheeks turn red.

"So…" I said, dragging the word long.

"Uh, right," he stood up fast. "Let's go back down."

"Yeah, people will be getting the wrong idea if we stay any longer," I said, still enjoying the feel of the dress on my body.

Ankoku opened the door and motioned for me to go first.

"Ladies first," he bowed.

"Why, thank you," I decided to play along with him.

We both laughed in the same time and went out.

"You look gorgeous, Misaki," he whispered in my ears before grabbing my hand.

Heat arose to my cheeks, but I waved it away. Tonight was a night – possibly the only night – I could wear a dress and act like a real girl. And I wasn't going to ruin it just because of an embarrassing comment about how I look.

And I wasn't going to ruin it just because the guy I went with wasn't the guy I wanted to go with.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi! Got another chance to write chapters! Ah...**

**I'm in the middle of finishing my projects, so I'll not hold you guys back for very long. Also, I'll reply any of the reviews in the next chapter. Sorry.**

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><p>We walked down the marble steps, my hand on top of his. My dress swept the floor.<p>

"Thanks," I whispered to Ankoku.

"No problem, milady," he said. "Now, may I have this dance?"

I felt a sudden rush of…

Joy? Anger? Stupidity? I don't know, but I just felt as if I would hate myself later if I didn't accept his request.

If only accepting a dance was easy.

"Um, one problem, Ankoku," I fidgeted. "I… I can't dance."

Ankoku smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. "I'll teach you as we go," he said and gently lifted our hands as we headed to the center of the ballroom.

"Put your hands around my neck," he whispered as I felt his hands snaking its way around my waist.

I did what he asked as all the blood climbed up to my cheeks.

"Now sway."

We did, and I felt like Cinderella. Dancing in a dress for the very first time. It was heaven, I tell you.

The noise in the room slowly faded away. I felt as if Ankoku and I were the only people in the room, swaying awkwardly. My tension slowly faded away and the embarrassment of being in public with Ankoku disappeared.

Well, that's got to be good, right?

Wrong! Because just when I thought I was going to faint with too much peacefulness, my mind suddenly filled in tantrum.

Why was Ankoku acting like such a gentleman? It wasn't possible for him to really _like_ me, was it?

Oh [enter a cuss word of your choice]. If he did really like me then I was screwed.

And why was I feeling so happy? Where did all the anger and hate go to?

Why was I _dancing_ with Ankoku? I never even danced with Usui, my own freaking boyfriend. And there I was dancing with some perverted ghost-controller I only knew for less than 2 days.

Why did I even agree to change into the dress? Was I really that desperate to feel like a normal girl?

Just when my skull was going to overload with questions directed to myself, I stopped swaying and walked towards a beverage counter, my head pounding. The voices of partying men and women reappeared. My throat had suddenly become as dry as bone, and it only made me feel worse when my heart started pounding in my ears.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ankoku's voice lured over me.

"Y-yeah. Just a headache. Don't mind me, go back partying." Desperate for anything to drink, I frantically grabbed a glass of who-knew-what and drank it just as Ankoku tried to stop it from ever reaching my lips.

And I almost choked myself to death.

I didn't know that they were serving alcoholic drinks. Since, you know, there were high school students invited and we were under age. But then, I guess it was my fault for not realizing that we – Ankoku and I – were the _only_ high school students invited. And the event organizers probably had skipped our names when they were going through the guest lists.

Oops.

"Sheeshum, are you alright?" Ankoku asked as he gently patted my back, which only caused all the hair on my body to stand up. Somehow, my body became wary of his touch again.

I quickly pulled away from him, trying to increase the distance between us.

"Misaki?" He asked, reaching out for me.

The headache was getting worse and worse and now my vision became blurry. I felt my cheeks burn, only I wasn't blushing. All the voices that came back disappeared again. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, everything seemed like a dream.

"Stay… Away from… Me…" I muttered.

Was this how it feels to drink alcohol? If so, then why was I the only one in the whole room of alcohol-drinking-people who felt like fainting?

"Misaki!" I heard Ankoku shouted.

I felt my body falling to the cold marble floor; only I didn't feel the pain of falling. I couldn't feel any part of my body except for the pain in my head and the pounding of my heart.

It's funny how, just a second before I fell unconscious, I still could feel like the girl in the movie, where she faints in front of a prince in a fabulous dress.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

**Reviews:**

**blackopalz21: (chp. 24) LOL. That's what I thought when I reread the chapter.**

**kyofan101: (chp.24) IKRRR! He's becoming hot in my eyes too! And yeah, I whip my hair back and forth~ (chp. 25) Maybe I made him look irresponsible on purpose, maybe not. :p**

**usuixmisaki: (chp. 24) He's haunting me :p (chp. 25) God, I'm so happy I'm not the only one warming up to Ankoku...**

**fateMoon: (chp. 24) Again, he's haunting my house XD (chp. 25) Yea! Cranky Misaki ftw~~**

**DarkkAngelll: (chp. 24) LOL, the moment I read 'I think Misa-chan is going to the dark side' my mind imagined her in a black dress, looking soulless.**

**Melaniee: (chp. 24) I'll leave that for you to decide :3**

**Bevy: (chp. 24 and the others) WOW. You reviewed... A LOT. My email was, like, overloaded with review alerts! Anyway, yes, you should stay loyal to Usui!**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: (chp. 24) You're still REALLY far from the ending, my dear...**

**violetshade: (chp. 25) There will be some violence in the next chapter - chapter 27 - THAT'S for sure.**

**xtheBLEAHCEDalchemistx: (chp. 25) Haha, that's okay.**

**Sarah9797: (chp. 25) Usui will 'go to the rescue'. You'll see :)**

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><p><em>A wolf in sheep's clothing.<em>

_A wolf…_

_Out of two, you shall choose._

_You shall choose…._

_Choose…_

_The one whom is right._

_Whom is right…_

_Right…_

_But not necessarily the one you trust._

_Not by trust…_

_And from the choice, will it all be revealed._

_Revealed…_

I jolted upright in bed, gasping, my hand over my heart.

Wait a second. In… _Bed?_

I did a quick 360 look-around and discovered that I was in the room from before. I was still in my dress, its comfortable weight against my legs making me feel like sleeping beauty.

God, what's with all the Disney Princesses?

"Oh, you're awake. I guess Long Island Iced Tea doesn't suit your taste," I heard Ankoku's voice echo against the well-distanced walls.

I turned towards the direction his voice was coming from and saw a dark shadow walking towards the bed.

"That's iced tea?" I asked, my voice sounding like a horrible scream even to my ears in the quiet room.

I heard him chuckle. "It's an alcoholic iced tea; I suppose you can call it that. They taste like lemon iced tea, don't they?"

I sat up straighter, my hands fidgeting with the fabric of the dress. Satin, I could tell, even though I rarely – almost never, actually – do research on different kinds of fabric. "They do, but with a strong backing of alcohol," I replied, shivering when my tongue recalled the taste of the drink.

I scooted closer to the edge of the bed, and my head started pounding again. I flinched.

"Headache?" He asked, now directly beside the bed.

"Yeah, a killer one," I rubbed my temples.

"Your first time drinking alcohol, I suppose?"

"Wanted to save it until I'm at the age where I'm legal to drink. But yes, it was my first time drinking alcohol," I turned my heads to see him.

Now that he was less than 2 feet away from me, I could see that he had opened his tux and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his dress shirt. I felt my cheeks heat up, and, for the first time, I was glad that the room was lacking of light.

"Anyway, what are we doing here? Why aren't you downstairs, partying?" I asked, my heart beating three times faster than usual.

Why was it beating like that? Was I going to have a heart attack and die? I knew it! Drinking _does_ cause death. Oh God…

"The party ended one hour ago. It's one o'clock now," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Then why aren't we in your car, going home?" I felt a knot appearing in my stomach. Yeah, The Knot. Whatever his answer was going to be, I was not going to like it.

But I never get to hear what he had to say, because right then, a loud thunder sounded and the whole room vibrated.

I yelped and clenched my dress. In case you guys are wondering, yes, I am afraid of thunders. Especially loud, building-vibrating thunders like this one.

"There's your answer. A storm is raging outside and all the guests are asked to stay overnight here, for safety purposes, at least until the storm calms down," he said.

Told you so.

Now that he mentioned it, I did hear water splashing and wind gushing against the window. Well, guess I was stuck there.

I stared at him in disbelief. How were we going to stay _overnight_ in _one_ room? That… sounds _really_ misleading.

"Ak- Akhh," I choked on my own breath.

Ankoku looked at me with a pair of those blue eyes of his and placed his arms in the air, the universal sign of I-won't-do-a-thing. "I'll keep my hands to myself, so don't worry," he said.

Yeah, if only I'd trust boys.

But admitting that I was afraid of his perverted movements would be really embarrassing, so I quickly corrected him, "No! I have a paper due tomorrow."

He looked surprise for a second, and then he shook it off.

"Anyway, you should go back to sleep," he said while standing up. "That is, of course, if you can. You know, with the storm raging outside."

Yeah, ask a girl you sexually harassed just a day before to _sleep_ in a room with you while you're still awake, why don't you?

But before I could scream my lungs out about my disapproval, a sound interrupted me.

"Just why the hell are you in a room with my girlfriend?"

My throat suddenly became bone-dry.

I turned towards the direction where _his_ voice was coming from, and surely, I saw a figure glowing brilliantly in the darkness of the room, looking like he would be pleased to kill anyone right then.

Especially the one in front of him.

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><p><strong>Horribly short, I know. But, please still do review!<strong>


	27. Chapter 27

**Heyyyy, it's been a while huh. I got piles and piles of paperwork to do and piles of things to study for my upcoming mock exams. I know they're not for grade and anything, but I just like studying for stuff. Yes, I'm weird. I get that a lot.**

**Reviews:**

**Sarah9797: LOL. Don't you just love the suspense? (And P.S. Saw your picture. You're pretty~~)**

**crying angel: Naw, I'm really hard to offend =P Haha, *salutes back***

**blackopalz21: Oh yeah, you're right about the serious fighting :O**

**kyofan101: -suspense- *gasps***

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Oh, you can try to guess what's going to happen in the end, I'm not trying to stop you from it or anything. Just telling you, this story is going to be a LONG one ;)**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: I just love cliffhangers :p**

**Al-Orange Ninja: Mayyybbbeeeeeeee...**

**cyndy-kawaii-maidsama: I'M SO DISAPPOINTED WITH YOU! OUT OF ALL PEOPLE! LOL, just joking / No, it's okay. We all have things to do besides doing things on the web, don't we?**

**arissamei-chan: Aww, thanks! / But there are better authors out there than me. And of course you should write a story!**

**_AND ONCE_ AGAIN, if I didn't get to reply to your reviews, please don't get offended or anything. It's just that I have a stack of papers beside me waiting to be done right now (seriously, there's a stack of paperwork beside me right now), so I'm trying to lessen it up.**

**And be sure to check out my message below! (DON'T CHEAT! READ THE CHAPTER FIRST!)**

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><p>"Usui," I called out before he could do anything harsh.<p>

But I was too late, because not a fourth of a second after I had called him, his fist had sunken in Ankoku's stomach, sending both of them towards a wall.

"Ankoku!" I ran towards the fighting men in dress shirts. "Usui! What are you idoingi?"

Ankoku spat out blood from his mouth to the floor beside him, before retorting, "What the hell are you doing?"

Usui grabbed the collar of Ankoku's dress shirt and started lifting and smashing his head onto the floor. Good thing the floor was carpeted, or else Ankoku would've had a serious brain damage right now.

"Usui!" I hissed while trying to pull him away from Ankoku, who was having a severe nosebleed. "Get off him! You're going to wake the other guests!"

But you could have had a parade going on in the room and Usui would still not notice. He was too absorbed on beating Ankoku into a bloody pulp. And he was a little more from finishing the job.

"Just why the hell are you together in a room with my girlfriend?" Usui growled, smashing Ankoku's head in the end of every word.

I lifted my heavy dress – the only condition where the dress is not appreciated, so far – and ran as fast as I could to the side of the fight, instead of the back. And let's just say that view I got from that angle was more gruesome than expected. I'll spare you the details, because believe me, you won't have the appetite for a whole month of I gave you the descriptions.

"Usui!" I shrieked. "Please, just stop it! You're going to kill him!"

I pulled Usui away from Ankoku. Well, I tried, anyway. Because, again, I was only a girl in a dress – and not even passing at being that – how could I possibly stop a raging ghost? Especially when a little part of me did wanted him to continue beating up the poor guy.

Yes, call me sick. Because I probably was, for wanting a guy who had brought me to a grand party to be the victim of murder of my own boyfriend.

"Dude! What the hell?" Ankoku groaned as a fist crashed his cheek.

"Why the hell did you even bring her to this party?" Usui asked. "You'll pay for this, jerk."

Whoa, I didn't know Usui had that mouth. But that was the least of my worries right now.

I gathered up all my worries, sadness, embarrassment and anger – even the one I had for Ankoku – and released them all with a shout that I was sure could wake even the dead haunting around the building. "USUI! THAT'S ENOUGH! ANKOKU DID NOTHING WRONG!"

I used so much force and feelings at that one sentence that my head felt like shattering into pieces. And it didn't help a lot when guilt started appearing. You know, the guilt I deserved for protecting Ankoku when I was supposed to hate him.

Usui stopped punching Ankoku and looked at me, giving Ankoku just enough time to realize that his nose was seriously messed up.

I gulped and continued, "We- we're in this room because I fainted in the party and he- he brought me here. I… I drank alcohol."

The fury in Usui's eyes returned the moment I said the word 'alcohol'. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned that part, huh?

"You let her drink _alcohol?_" Usui growled at Ankoku.

Just when Usui was going to punch Ankoku again, I shouted, "Usui! Enough! Let Ankoku go!"

I yanked Usui as hard as I could away from Ankoku. He fell towards the edge of the bed, panting. And for those of you who keep on forgetting I said this, ghosts – especially new ghosts – are still stuck with their habit of breathing.

I quickly sat beside Ankoku. "Oh my, are you alright?" I asked as my hands desperately ripped a part of my dress to wipe all the blood off Ankoku's face. "I'm so sorry. I really am."

My whole body was shaking from all the blood and violence. I didn't know what to do. To stay there and help Ankoku, or to walk away with Usui. Both options seemed wrong. So I gave all the controls of my limbs to my nervousness. And I stayed by Ankoku's side.

"God, I think your nose is broken," I hissed as I wiped his nose gently, earning a flinch from him.

He groaned as I continued wiping. I wasn't paying attention to Usui until I heard him ask, "Why are you helping him?"

I whirled around to face him. "Because," I said, "he didn't do anything wrong. I was the one who accidentally drank the alcohol. He helped me by bringing me here. And now you're acting like a jerk by punching him and possibly breaking his nose!"

To say that Usui looked hurt would've been a massive understatement. He looked as if I had just announced that I preferred Ankoku to be my boyfriend than him.

But that's maybe because I did sound like I was announcing just that.

"Jerk…" Usui echoed silently.

And with that, he vanished into a pile of shimmering glitter.

I felt bad, of course. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't feel bad after hurting my own boyfriend by siding to his enemy's side?

But my sorrow was interrupted when Ankoku groaned again.

"Ugghh. I'll need 20 boxes of Kleenex to stop the bleeding."

So let's see what I had to deal with, shall we? First, my boyfriend ghost was hurt and possibly wasn't going to speak to me for the next, I don't know, 5 years or so? And the I had to deal with a guy who wails like a baby just because his nose was broken.

Great.

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><p><strong>So, I'm planning to hold a contest or something like that. But of course, I need to know if you guys are interested to joining the contest or not, because it will be just a waste of time if I hold a contest and no one shows up to submit a thing, right?<strong>

**The contest is a writing challenge (a great way to show your skills in writing~). I won't go into deep depth about it now, but if I get enough people saying they want to and I still think I can manage it, I'll write a whole essay about it =P**

**So yeah, tell me what you think. And again, this is just an idea. If I am to change my mind and cancel this whole thing, please don't be too upset or anything, kay?**

**Please review :3**


	28. Chapter 28

**HI! Got you another chapter! Right now, I'm having a severe headache, so I'll just skip to the reviews.**

__**Reviews:**

**blackopalz21: Yeah. In fact, if Ankoku is a girl, I would've probably written that down as one of his lines.**

**kyofan101: Twilight? I've watched the movie, but I have not read it. I'm not really fond of vampires. (No offense to whoever does.)**

**crying angel: I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter, despite how much you hate blood :)**

**Sarah9797: Wow, you still remember that girl...**

**usuixmisaki: LOL. Like twilight? Team Edward? Team Jacob? LOL**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Nose is already a pretty painful thing x_x**

**The headache is killing me, so goodbye for now.**

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><p>"The storm is calming down, I should probably go home now," I said, peeking through the thick red curtains beside the bed.<p>

After the not-so-pleasing ghost-human showdown, I had asked Ankoku to rest on the bed while I keep an eye on the weather. Which was the main reason why I was sitting on an uncomfortable chair in front of the window, staring at the darkness of the outside world.

"Yeah," Ankoku's voice sounded muffled. "Only if I can move my arms to call my driver."

I stood up and brushed my dress off. "Oh, no. You should stay here until you feel like you can move a limb. I'll tell the teacher that you got into an accident and can't come for school tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'll call a cab."

"Oh, okay…" Ankoku sighed. He actually sounded relieved that he didn't need to move and take me home. Which was okay. It's not like I had expected him to be oh-so-gentleman to stop me and offer me a ride or anything…

Oh, alright already. I did expect him to offer me a ride, considering how gentle he had been at the party. But, oh well. Whatever.

I grabbed my bag, dress and Usui's tux – forgot it was there – and, after a glimpse of Mr. Broken Nose, went out quickly.

Now that most of the lights were turned off – either that or they got burned by the lightning – the mansion looked like a haunted house. I could hear voices, footsteps; but no one was around. Constant snores vibrated out through the gaps of the doors along the hall. It was creepy, I tell you.

And it might surprise you, but walking along a dark and creepy hallway in a dress that looked like it belonged to a dead queen wasn't as much fun as you'd think.

My heart pounding so fast that I thought it was going to shoot out of my chest, I quickly stormed past the sleeping security guard and out into the rain. And as much fun as running in the rain may sound, I cursed under my breath for not borrowing an umbrella from the security guard. Or, I guess, steal would be a better word for it.

I ran towards the front gate, which was unbelievably far from the main entrance, and waited for a cab to drive past the gate. But no cab – or taxis, whatever you call them – appeared.

Of course! It was well past midnight and the mansion was in a very sparsely populated area. And stupid me for just realizing that after I had gone through all the hassle of running in the middle of a rain.

And you know what made it worse? The dress I wore was starting to soak up all the rain water.

Just what I needed.

Now, I had two options. One, to go back inside and humiliate myself – and possibly scaring the security guard because I have no doubt I looked pretty ruined right then – or two, freaking walk home. And since I really didn't want to humiliate myself, I chose the latter.

And let me just say that whoever made the dress obviously didn't think of the how uncomfortable the dress would be in situations like this.

I took off my heels, draped myself with Usui's tux and walked down the street. I thanked myself for memorizing the routed I needed to take to reach home.

A good advice for the people who wants to walk 3 miles in the dark would be to bring your iPods. Because with nothing but darkness swarming over you like ants over a glazed donut, there was literally nothing to do.

Unless if you're like me and actually uses time like this to think over what you should do once you get back home. Like, for instance, to get your boyfriend to talk to you again. Or to take a warm bath and directly go to sleep. Or even finish a paper that's due tomorrow.

And many of you have probably jumped ahead and are already at the place where you realize that those were what I was thinking about, and I'm not just rattling on hypothetically, so good on you!

"I'm going to kill Ankoku," I muttered under my breath, "and punch Usui."

And let's just say that for the rest of the way, I kept on cursing whoever made the dress. Oh, and the rain. And by the time I reached home, I was as soaked as a puddle.

"I'm home," I announced, on the off chance Usui was there waiting for me. But silence greeted me.

Oh well.

I stripped off the dress, took a quick bath and was sitting on my study table by 4 a.m. Not the best time to finish a paper for tomorrow, but I guess it was better than rushing it in the morning.

I grabbed the half-finished report on civil war and tapped my temples with the end of my pencil. I've got to admit, it was kind of hard to concentrate on an assignment when I've got so many other things I was worrying about. It would've been easier if Usui wasn't mad at me…

I scribbled words onto the paper, not even caring if they matched up with the ones I had written 3 days ago. After finishing the paper with a powerful smash of my pencil, which had broken into two from the impact, I practically jumped onto my bed, feeling as exhausted as ever.

I turned to lie on my shoulder and blinked slowly, feeling my heartbeat slow down as my breath became longer and deeper. And just when the wall across from me had completely turned dark, I closed my eyes.

But before my eyes were completely shut, I saw a figure of a man. You guessed it, it was Usui. But here's the part that really shook my mind:

He wasn't glowing.

But that, I'm sure, was just one of the many tricks my imagination had been playing on me.

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><p><strong>Please review~<strong>


	29. Chapter 29

_****_**Here's a really short one just so that you guys don't get bored. All reviews and things will be done in the next chapters. Thanks.**

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><p><em>KRANGGG!<em>

I sprang upwards, my hand over my pounding chest. I blinked a couple time, trying to take in the brightness of my room.

"Usui? Is that you?" I mumbled without thinking. "Are you in the kit – "

I stopped when I remembered that Usui and I were still fighting.

I won't lie to you, I really thought that Usui had returned. I quickly kicked my blanket off of me and ran down the stairs.

"Usui! I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs. "I really am!"

But once I arrived to the kitchen, no glowing figure was there. My heart felt like it was held by an ice-cold hand.

So he still hadn't forgiven me. I should've known better.

I picked up the metal pot that fell on the floor, which explained the sound I heard earlier.

"Hmh," I sighed, because what else could I do? _Beg_ for him to come back? Yeah, as if it was that easy. "Just when are you going to go back, Usui?"

With another sigh, I climbed back up the stairs and prepared for school.

It wasn't until I was at school that the really horrible part of it all occurred to me. And that was that the question wasn't _when_ Usui would be back, it was really _if_. Because of course if you thought about, why would the guy bother coming back at all?

I told Yukimura that I wasn't crying. I told him my eyes were watering from all the fumes from the Magic markers he had been using. And he seemed to believe me.

Too bad the only person I didn't seem able to fool any more was myself.

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><p><strong>Please review even though it's really horribly short.<strong>


	30. Chapter 30

**Hi!**

**That's all.**

**Reviews:**

**CHP. 28**

**arissamei-chan: No, I didn't disable my anonymous reviews. I love my readers both logged in or anonymous.**

**kaiwa: LOLL. That saying is really popular in my class right now.**

**Sarah9797: True..**

**blackopalz21: That's a great idea! But I don't think there will be any space for a sister.**

**kyofan101: :) Not going to tell**

**fateMoon: Read above ^**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Yes! Can't agree more!**

**usuixmisaki: Who's Seth? LOL, I'm sorry, I'm not a twilight shipper.**

**kilopixes: Thanks :)**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Acceptable assumption**

**UsagiKuro: Hi there too! Thanks for reading! And yeah, I'm planning a contest. Still planning, though.**

**CHP. 29**

**arrisamei-chan: You'll find out real soon.**

**kyofan101: Thankss**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Same as what I said to arrisamei-chan ^**

**Sarah9797: *grins***

**fateMoon: Sounds like my stress... Only, of course, I don't have guys fighting over me.**

**UsagiKuro: Same..**

**usuixmisaki: Thankss**

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><p>"Misaki," Usui's voice sounded smooth and gentle. "Misaki, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have acted like how I did. Oh, can you forgive me?"<p>

He kneeled down on one foot and took my hand. He kissed the top of it with the delicate lips of his, sending shivers – good ones – all over my body.

"Oh, of course I can! I'm so sorry I called you a jerk! I can't believe I said that. Oh, can you forgive me?" I asked.

"Of course," he stood up and carried my bridal style. "Come, my lovely Misaki. Let's escape this horrible place and live on our own, without the troubles and stress."

"Oh, my charming Usui, together we shall escape this horrible mess," I said. "And together shall we spend the rest of our life."

Yeah, I know. I wish.

I snapped out of my daydream and answered the screaming girl, who had been shouting out my name for the 5th time, on the phone.

"Oh, sorry. I was, umm, reading an interesting article," I lied. "So, where were we?"

Sakura grunted. "I've finished telling you the story!" she squealed. "Come on, Misaki. You agree that I wasn't at fault, don't you? That Kuuga doesn't have the right to be so mad at me? You do, right, Misaki?"

God, see why I'm so grumpy sometimes? Not only did I need to deal with Student Council things, the student body and my own problems, I also needed to deal with the love-life of my beloved friends. Like I hadn't had enough love problems myself lately.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I do," I muttered. "Look, Sakura. I would love to talk to you, but I've got calls from Student Council members, asking me about the next event that's coming up. So, next time, kay?"

She gulped down a sob and said, "Okay. Bye." And she hung up.

I hopped onto bed, all my muscles tired and begging for bed time. It was 10 p.m. and I had just finished all the work that needed to be done. Moreover, I had finished washing the dishes and laundry. So right then I was pretty much beat up.

"Ahh," I yawned, stretching my arms and legs as far as they would go. "So tired…"

I cracked my knuckles and spine – crack my spine; that sounds gory – hearing a satisfying _krrkrkrkrk_.

I was still in my school uniform, which was really crumpled now that I had stretched my body in all directions possible. I knew I had to get changed, but it felt just _so damn good_ to lie on the bed, you know?

So I didn't get up. I told myself that I would only lie down for a bit, and then I would get up and get changed.

Yeah, what a procrastinating pig I was.

I rested on my shoulder and stared out the open window beside me, feeling as the cool wind lick my skin. The sky, which seemed like it was filled with shining diamonds, was a shade of navy blue. The moon was shining brilliantly, like a light bulb in a dark room.

It's really funny how, even with a really calming scenery right there before my eyes, my eyes were starting to water. I don't know if you guys know this already or not, but the last time I saw a sky like that was with Usui, inside a tent on a stranded beach.

It was our one month anniversary.

And I would never have that moment again. Because, not only that Usui was dead, he was also avoiding me when God had given him another chance to be with me, by haunting me. Or whoever gave him the right to be on the Universal plane. God, himself, his fancy old dagger, whatever.

I was about to shout out my cries when I felt soft fabric touching my arm.

I looked down at my hand and saw that someone had placed my blanket on top of me. I couldn't see who, though, since I was facing my window. But I didn't dare to turn around. I don't know why.

And then I felt a finger brush against my cheek. It was soft and delicate and somehow… _familiar_.

I swallowed down the cotton ball inside my throat and slowly turned around. And what I saw made me do a somersault mentally.

You guessed it. It was Usui. Still glowing with that beautiful green radiance.

"Usui," I whispered, my eyes producing more tears.

He looked surprise to see me awake, and tried to dematerialize as fast as possible. But I caught one of his hands before he could disappear and his color returned.

"I'm sorry, Usui. I really am," I cried. "I didn't mean what I said last night Usui. I really didn't."

He looked down at my hand around his wrist rather coldly, and I let go of it so fast that you would think it was catching on fire. But maybe that was because it did seem like it had caught on fire; the look on his face was… Painful.

"I…" I muttered, but didn't add anything after it. Because I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what would make him feel better and what would just make things worse than how it had been.

Usui sighed and looked away. And just for a second there, I thought Usui was going to dematerialize.

But he didn't. He just stood there, looking like a glowing ghost in turmoil. Only maybe he was.

Groggily, I lifted up a hand and reached up to hold his, on which his fingers were dangling loosely. I slipped my fingers in between his thumb and forefinger, hoping that he wouldn't yank away his hand and leave me in an awkward position.

"You don't get it, do you?" I heard him whisper. His voice sounded… somber.

I looked up at him quickly. I didn't expect him to, well, speak up. Actually, I didn't think I was expecting anything from him. I was so sick and tired of expecting something to happen and when it doesn't, it just makes me nuts.

"I wasn't upset because of what you said," he continued, his eyes still staring coldly at the far end of the room.

Hearing that, I felt relieved. So it wasn't because of my calling him a jerk that had made him so angry. I knew he wasn't that type of guy who would be hurt just by some words that I say. I knew it.

But if he wasn't upset about the whole 'jerk' thing, what exactly was he upset about?

"So what are you upset about? If it isn't because of what I said?" I asked, my voice steadily rising.

His lips parted, and I swear he was about to tell me what I was asking for. But, after a long deep breath, he closed his mouth and looked at me. And for the first time since the grand party incident, he smiled warmly at me.

"Nothing. Go to sleep," he said and kissed my hand, the one I've slipped inside his.

Oh yeah, tell me something and don't finish it, why don't you?

He was not going anywhere before answering. Not on my watch.

"What is it, Usui? You can't just tell me something and not expect me to make you finish it," I grabbed his wrist while slowly lying down.

Once my head had touched my pillow, we were staring into each others' eyes. His were green as mine was amber. But it's not like any of you needed my reminder.

But the main reason I didn't just sleep was not because I was really that interested in what was pissing him off – even though it would be good to know – it was because I didn't dare to close my eyes, no matter how tired and sore they were. Because deep inside, I was still scared. Scared that Usui would leave when I wake up the next morning. Scared that he would never return. Scared that this night, his return, was just a dream. A dream that would end once I close my eyes.

But you know Usui. He is no one if not a mind reader. So it wasn't too surprising when he chuckled and said, "You can sleep, I will be here when you wake up."

Blushing furiously, I yanked my blanket to cover my head completely, saying, "Hmph, who's scared of losing you?" Even though I really didn't mean it.

He chuckled, and I felt something light touching my head for two seconds.

"Goodnight, Ayuzawa," he said in the gentlest voice I ever hear him use. It was even gentler than the one he used when we were outside of the mansion Ankoku's friend owned.

"Umm, Usui. What did you just do?" I asked, referring to the feel on my head a second ago.

"Nothing. You're imagining it," he said.

"I see…" I muttered, but I was sure I hadn't just imagined it.

And I closed my eyes, snuggling closer to the solid ghost beside me, loving the feel of knowing that he was there.

"Night, Usui."

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey, I see most of you like the last chapter :D (Especially with the random daydreaming from Misaki LOL) I hope you will enjoy this one as much as you did with the last one!**

**And bad news - well, for me, anyway - I sprained my ankle and it hurts so BAD! I haven't told my mom yet, though. She'll overreact and force me to quit basketball, which was how I got the ankle sprained. It's my first time having a sprained ankle, so I don't know what to do. So far, I'd sprayed aerosol and compressed it with ice. If you guys have any tips to heal a sprained ankle, please do tell me! I'm panicking inside, worried if maybe I got a bone dislocated or something.**

**Reviews: (A quick one this time. Sorry. Have a 2000 word essay due tomorrow.)**

**blackopalz21: Yes! I love that scene, too! Yep, it's that episode. I just LOVE it a LOT!**

**Cyndy-kawaii-chan: You know, when I was reading your review via email, the thing that came into my mind was Katy Perry's 'The One That Got Away'. LOL**

**UsagiKuro: I know. I felt that way, too, when I was rereading it. I actually wrote like 2500 words for that chapter, but when I editing it, I just felt that there's no space in the story for what I wrote. And LOLLL, I can only imagine what your Grandma was thinking. XD**

**MagicStarry888: Why, HI! Yes, I live in Indonesia :) And yes, spoilers ruins the twist of a story.**

**lovemaidsama: Aww, thanks! Although I really don't deserve the praise. My last 2 chaptered stories aren't that good. /**

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><p>"I see you've got your nose fixed," I muttered as I plopped down onto my seat beside Mr. I-Whine-Like-A-Baby-Just-Because-My-Nose-Is-Broken. Aka, Ankoku.<p>

"Yeah. Turns out it wasn't not broken as bad as I thought," he said sheepishly, his fingers drumming the table in front of him. "Guess I exaggerated a bit, huh?"

A bit? Oh please.

"So, how's your skull? Any bleeding?" I asked, just out of curiosity. It's not like I cared about his wounds…

Okay, maybe I did. But that was because the one responsible for them was my boyfriend.

"Surprisingly, there wasn't any inside bleeding in my skull. Fortunately, I should say," he grinned while rubbing the back of his head.

I sighed. "Yeah, I surely wouldn't want to be held responsible if you were to have your skull cracked," I breathed.

I picked up my bag, which I had placed on the floor when I sat down, and took out a piece of square paper. Not exactly origami, since it was only a piece of used notepad paper, only without the glue to stick it on things. On one side was a solved math equation.

"So, how are you and Usui doing?" Ankoku confided.

Something inside my stomach clenched when I heard him say Usui's name. But I tried to not show it on my face. So instead, I replied, without looking at the guy, "Oh, we're fine."

I folded the piece of paper into two, not knowing what I was making. It probably would end up as another weird-looking spaceship that people without my sense of imagination wouldn't recognize.

"Really? He's not mad about… You know. _What happened_," he asked, leaning towards me to see what I was doing.

"Nope, he's cool," I said, trying to seem as if I wasn't disturbed with him being so close to me.

"I see," he let out a low whistle.

The next couple minutes were spent in silence. Well, not exactly, since the room was filled with shouting students. But between me and Ankoku, there was no talking, no groaning, no sighing done.

"Ah!" I exhaled loudly. "What the hell is this?"

I threw the… _thing_ I made onto my table, trying my best to think of something that looked like it. I don't even want to describe how it looked like. The thing was indescribably bad.

Ankoku stared at the folded paper and said, "Um… A… _Spaceship?_"

I whirled around to face him, grimacing.

"What? It does kind of look like a spaceship…" He said defensively. "If you, like, tilt it a little… And fold that edge in… And… Um…"

"Might as well smack it flat," I growled while flicking the horrible masterpiece off my table. It landed just beside my bag.

Ankoku leaned down and took the thing. Not that I cared. Maybe he just wanted to take a look on the math equation on the paper. I mean, that equation took me half an hour to solve…

"I don't think even a person with a wild running imagination can figure out what this is," Ankoku said, his eyes glued onto the Thing.

Yes, I'm going to call it the Thing from now own. Have a problem? Go write it down on a piece of paper and eat it. Your stomach would probably solve it for you.

That was a joke, by the way. Don't eat bleached paper; your system wouldn't be so pleased if you do.

"Oh, shut up," I spat out.

I leaned down and grabbed my water bottle from the pocket on the side of my bag. And just when I was going to straighten myself, I saw a glimpse of the inside of Ankoku's bag.

With a horror-stricken face, I straightened myself slowly. All the blood draining from my face, I twisted the cap of my bottle with trembling hands.

I told myself, again and again, that it was only my eyes playing tricks on me. That Ankoku had changed – for no apparent reason. That he wasn't as bad as I first thought he was.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a gentle voice. "You look kind of… Pale."

I swallowed a mouthful of water and nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright," I lied, my eyes not once wavering from the corner of the room.

No, I saw it clearly. It was there in his bag, lying in between a math textbook and his home economics notebook.

Usui's sacred dagger.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	32. Chapter 32

**First of all, I want to thank anyone who had given me tips on how to deal with my ankle. It's all better now.**

**And since the reviews are, more or less, all about the sacred dagger, I'll reply it in one short sentence to save time (It's midnight right now and I haven't eaten anything for the past 12 hours. I'm STARVING)**

**There will be more explanations about the dagger in chapter 33.**

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><p>"Are you sure you're alright?" Ankoku asked again after 5 minutes of me not talking.<p>

I nodded, probably looking like a soulless zombie, with my eyes still staring blankly at the corner of the room.

All the hatred that disappeared a couple days ago – the night of the grand party, to be exact – came crashing back. Only now it was accompanied with confusion.

If Ankoku really was a bad guy, then why did he treat me so kind the past couple days? I mean, unless he was planning something and was trying to get on my good side to catch me by surprise – which was not entirely impossible, considering how sneaky he had already been in just a few days – he should've treated me like how he did when we first met.

I cringed as the flashback played inside my mind.

"Ankoku," I finally managed to mutter out.

"Yes?"

I turned towards him, my head feeling like there were bricks piled up on top of my head, and asked him, in my most serious-but-not-strict-and-scary voice – more like serious-with-a-mix-of-fear voice, I guess – "Why?"

Ankoku's eye narrowed. "Pardon?" he cocked his head a little.

"Why?" I repeated in a more shaking voice. "Why are you being so kind to me?"

He stared at me as if I was insane. But then again, maybe I was.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," I said, thankful that my voice was regaining its stability, "but wasn't it just three days ago that you were sexually harassing me? And wasn't it just two days ago that you were blackmailing me?"

Ankoku shrugged. "Yes," he said. "I heard a saying once before, however, that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."

At the time, all I felt was a little miffed at being called a fly. I never bother to wonder what he was trying to convey with that saying, because, you know, I was _so_ good with things like sayings.

Psh, yeah right.

"You and the language you use," I muttered in an unamused tone.

I heard him chuckle and shifted in his chair while I kept my eyes on his unzipped bag. More importantly, the _object_ inside his unzipped bag.

How could he have gotten the dagger? I mean, I highly doubt there was a duplicate of it, considering how complicated the decorations were around its handle. And if he had stolen it from Usui, which I also highly doubt, what was his intention of doing so?

The Knot appeared in my stomach when a memory from two days ago came back as a fast flashback in my mind.

_Exorcism_.

"…_you'll just have to say goodbye to Mr. Blondie…_" Ankoku's voice echoed inside what seemed like a hollow head of mine.

He mentioned something about an exorcism. Well, not really '_mentioned_', I guess, since he showed me the page about an exorcism instead of reading it to me. But that's beside the point.

And Usui ever mentioned about the dagger being the thing he used to stay in the Universal plane.

So if the dagger is Usui's anchor to stay in the mortal world, and now that anchor was with a guy who might or might not have the intention to do an exorcism on a _certain spirit_, that means…

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no!_

The Knot suddenly tightened itself, making me feel like hurling my breakfast, which was prepared by my lovely boyfriend, onto Ankoku's face. Which could only mean one thing…

My assumption of what was happening could be true.

And I begged mentally, not even knowing to whom I was begging to, that my assumption was wrong. That Usui was still on the Universal plane, and that Ankoku had really changed.

But considering how many times my knot had been right in the past, the chances of my assumption to be wrong was slim. Not impossible, just very, _very_ slim.

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><p><strong>Yeah, an I'm going to be very, <em>very<em> slim too if I don't get something to eat soon. And that slim is the bad kind of slim.**

**Please review.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hiiii! It's been a while, huh? Well, got news for you. I'm going to China tomorrow and probably won't update for the next week. I'll try to write whenever possible, but an update is not guaranteed.**

**ICCFOWIGSM: *Smiles creepily***

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Yeah, good thing, or else I wouldn't be able to join the basketball match yesterday :)**

**Ayachikari-sama: Not at all! I understand you PERFECTLY! LOL. Having heard a lot of my friends speak that way must have given me the practice to understand Indonesian-English. Or Singglish, whichever you call it :p**

**crying angel: Welcome back! Pleased to have you back!**

**fateMoon: His mind is made of gummy worms and chocolate chips! No, more like MY mind. Ha! (Yeaaa, I need more caffeine.)**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Thanks! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update!**

**Cara Cindy Luther: Thanksss!**

**karynperovskite: Haha, thanks! Truth to be told, I can't really imagine a cold Usui, too. But I guess that's the whole point of writing a fan fiction story XD**

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><p>"Usui!" I shouted my lungs out. "Usui! Please come!"<p>

I had managed to sneak out of school grounds to look for Usui in the woods behind where students were having lunch. I couldn't possibly go home to see if he was there, security guards were all around the school, ensuring that the students were doing what they were asked to do.

While I know that ghosts aren't dogs who come when someone calls out to them, I was still hoping that he would. But after 10 minutes of non-stop shouting – and hiding behind the bushes when someone passed by to get to the neighborhood beside the woods – with him still not appearing, I was really starting to worry.

"Usui! I swear –" I drew in a breath "– if you don't show up in the next 10 seconds, I will… I will… _cut_ your head in two!"

I panted.

_One..._

"Come on Usui…" I breathed. "I know you're here somewhere."

_Two…_

"Usui…" I panted, leaning down with my hands on my knees. No, he was coming. I could sense his presence…

Yeah, just as well as I could feel my every strand of my hair.

I was being facetious, by the way.

_Three…_

Face it, Misaki. He isn't coming, I told myself. He is gone, for good –

"Now can you just explain why you are out here calling out to me _when I'm taking a rest?_"

I whirled around, my hand over my pounding heart.

Please be Usui. Please, I beg you…

"Usui!" I gasped, more in happiness than surprise. "Thank God…"

He looked at me weirdly, as if I was some kind of failed science experiment who had ears sticking out from her nose, before settling with a chuckle. "You just miss me too much, don't you?" He smirked.

Leave it to Usui to turn a worried girl into a furious one.

"I am not!" I screamed. But then something inside me said that it probably wasn't the best time to have another one of those silly arguments I always had with Usui.

Usui, looking at the change of expression on my face, straightened himself from the tree trunk he had been leaning on and brushed himself off.

"What's wrong now?" He asked, as if it was a usual routine to bust me out of trouble. Maybe it was. Whatever.

"Do you still have your dagger?" I asked abruptly, my chest still rising and falling in a quick speed.

Usui stared at me for a moment, registering what I just said, before tapping his chin with his index finger. "I guess so. Why?"

I stared at him in disbelief. How could he say something as random as 'I guess so' in this kind of situation?

"You _guess_ so?" I realized that my voice was starting to grow louder and louder by the minute in anger. "Just so you know, Usui, the guy whose nose you broke two days ago has a dagger that looks just like yours. So you might want to stop '_guessing_' and start '_knowing_'!"

His eyebrows furrowed while he eyes the ground covered in dried leaves. "Now that you mention it…" he muttered. "I do recall not seeing it these couple days."

The fact that he was so calm just made me nuts! How could he be so calm when his life – err, spirit, I guess – was at stake! While I did admire his calmness when facing problems, this was not what I'd expect from him.

"Usui!" I hissed. "_Do you know in how much danger you are in right now?_"

He just continued to tap his chin when he said, "Yes, I believe I do."

Oh God, had he been watching the Sherlock Holmes movies I rented – and forgot to return it until finally its owner moved out, don't tell anyone – decades ago when he was waiting for me to get home? I mean, gee, I didn't know he was so desperate for entertainment that he would actually watch Sherlock Holmes.

Not that Sherlock Holmes is bad or anything, but Usui and Sherlock Holmes don't really match, you know? I've always pictured him as a…

Okay, I give up. I never actually pictured him as anyone aside from, well, Usui.

God, I really need to take more time to think of my own boyfriend.

I clenched my hands into tight balls of fists on my sides, annoyed by how relaxed he was.

"Usui!" I shouted. "Can you _stop_ playing Sherlock Holmes and actually _think_ of what's going on?"

He tore his gaze from the dried leaves on the ground and looked at me. That was when I saw that he was actually thinking. His eyes were the eyes of a man deeply immersed in thought. It kind of made me feel guilty for being so mad at him. _Kind of_, but not quite.

"What do you think he is planning to do with your dagger?" I asked. "Moreover, what is the use of that dagger? I thought you said it's like your anchor to this world? But if it is your anchor, why are you still here?"

"It is. But it doesn't work quite the way you think it does," he answered, his eyes fixed on the ground again.

"So how does it work, exactly?" I cocked my head a little to the side. "And make it snappy."

He drew in a breath. "It's simple, really. That dagger is not exactly my 'anchor', but rather my 'only-thing-that-can-kill-me-in-a-ghost-state'."

I stared at him, my jaws opened so wide that I needed to close it shut before a bug could get in.

"Eh?"

He exhaled sharply and said, in hushed voice, "Let's just say that the only thing that that dagger is capable of doing is killing me. That is if someone is to stab me – or slash me to death, whichever the method – with it. If not, then I'm as safe as ever. Well, that, unless there's another use for the dagger that I'm in the dark about."

"You could've just said it like that in the first place. Geez," I yawned.

Despite my grumpy attitude, I was relieved that Ankoku didn't have anything on Usui. Not one that he knew of, anyway. Which is saying something, because Usui knows a heck lot of things.

"So, in other words, he doesn't have anything against you, right? Nothing he can use to perform… I don't know, an exorcism?" I asked through my bangs.

His eyes widened as he cursed under his breath in fluent English. "How did you _learn_ that word?" He asked after the whole cussing thing.

I felt a blush coming up to my cheeks as I stammered, "N-no-nowhere! Now get out of here, I have an algebra test coming up."

He pursed his lips for a while, staring at me with questioning eyes, before shaking his head and pecking me a kiss on the cheek.

"See you at home, _psychic_," he chuckled before dematerializing into – say it with me, everybody – a pile of shimmering glitter.

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><p><strong>Did this chapter answer the questions you guys had about the dagger? If not, then be free to ask me the questions again, and I <em>will<em> answer it in the next chapter or the next one.**

**Please review!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Okay, this is a LONG one! (I'm still in China right now (as you can see in my profile) and will be coming back on Friday.)**

**Recently I've started reading the Hunger Games and let's just say that I'm _hooked_ to this series. I literally just finished reading Catching Fire and I regret not bringing Mockingjay to China. I'm really curious on what will happen next! Anyone else read it?**

**And I know the movie's out on the 23rd of March, but the movie isn't (or hasn't) released in China, so I need to wait until I get back to watch it. Curse.**

**Do anyone know where they sell the Mockingjay pin (the one that Katniss wore in the Games)? I know they do in Amazon, but I'm not allowed to shop online. So if anyone of you guys (in Indonesia or China) knows where they sell the pin, please do tell me! I'm dying to get my hands on one of those.**

**Anyway, enough with the Hunger Games. I've been thinking about the contest... I got a lot of 'yes's from you guys, but I'm still not sure about it. I mean, what will I even give the winners? And it's a bit hard to judge people's writings when I'm not even a pro myself. So yeaaa...**

**I'm not saying that I'm cancelling it, no. But I'm still thinking about it. And if you guys have any idea about what I can give the winners, please do tell me!**

**And last, I've been planning about a new story (this one's ending soon). Remember when I asked you guys to give me ideas for stories, and I would give you credit later if your idea is chosen? (If not, go back and read chapter 13) Yeah, I'm really interested in writing those stories. Only I'm also planning to write a sequel to this one (if somehow the ending is not satisfying for me), so I don't know which one to write first!**

**Reviews: (some skipped, sorry)**

**UsagiKuro: Casualness is one of Usui's charms, apparently. *swoons***

**blackopalz21: Haha, I just thought Usui might curse in English in moments like this.**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Okay then, feel free to ask if you're confused :)**

**For people who were like, "Then Ankoku could just kill Usui with the dagger, no?": Maybe yes, maybe no. You know that I would never give away spoilers.**

**And for the people who are saying sorry for not reviewing: It's okay. I know you guys have things outside of this website.**

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><p>It was when I had just sat down on the President chair in the Student Council room when Usui materialized on the corner of my table, looking just as he did in the woods.<p>

"What do you need?" I asked, thankful for the fact that the room was empty. "Our agreement clearly states that you are not to go to school unless I'm in some sort of danger."

He looked taken aback when he spoke. "What? Is it prohibited for a boyfriend to check up on his girlfriend?"

I rolled my eyes while flipping through pages of paperwork needed to be done.

"You know what I mean," I muttered while pulling out a rather interesting report to work on.

He sat on the edge of my table and, with one of his strong glowing hands, snatched away the paper I was reading.

"Hey!" I whined like a three-year-old, but I didn't care. "I was reading that!"

He tore his gaze from the paper he had _oh-so-politely _snatched from me and locked gaze with me. His eyes were pleading. And as much as I tried to look away from them, not wanting to give in for whatever trick he was playing, I couldn't. His eyes were just so mesmerizing. So full of elegance and graveness.

So full of loneliness.

It was only then had I realized that I hadn't spent that much of a quality time with Usui. And God only knew what that could do to a ghost.

"Alright, what do you want to do?" I asked, finally giving in. I was sure that I was going to hate myself for falling for his trick, but I could deal with that later.

Even with the insufficient lighting in the room – save the planet, use less light – I could see the corner of his closed lips twitch while he was leaning down towards me. And I knew for sure that he was going to say something I didn't like…

…Or what I'm sure I didn't like.

"Well," he whispered in my ear, "to be honest, I would want to jump you right now, while no one is here. What do you say, Prez?"

I have no doubt that my face was redder than a ripe tomato by then. My heart was beating fast, but not because I was interested in doing what Usui was saying. It was because he was leaning so close that it took every bit of my self-control to stop myself from sliding my head a little to the side and let his lips touch mine. It had been a while since we did that, too.

"You-You stupid, perverted idiot!" I smacked him hard on the head. "Can you _stop_ talking about weird, perverted stuff like that?"

He chuckled, and my heart softened. I didn't know why – and I still don't – but whenever he chuckles, it just brings good memory and a calming atmosphere to me that I actually giggled after failing to restrain a laugh.

"Okay, seriously, what do you suppose we do now? Since you clearly won't let me have the peace I need to work my paperwork," I asked, trying to stop myself from giggling again only to laugh even harder.

"Well, since it's Friday – "

Wow, it was Friday? I had completely lost track of what day it was, thanks to all the drama I needed to deal with.

" – I suggest we go rent a movie to watch together at home," he finished.

Yeah, since we can't really go to the cinema together, I thought, not out loud, though.

"Yeah, sure. What movie do you want to watch?" I asked as I stuffed my bag with all the paperwork that needed to be done.

"I don't know. Maybe," his voice changed to a slyer one, "a horror movie?"

I punched him hard on his abdomen before he could see me shiver.

"Seriously," I spat out.

"Why? Are you… _scared?_" he questioned.

"I am _not!_" I retorted. "I just find horror movies not educational and a waste of my precious time."

"Then prove it by watching it with me," Usui smirked.

God, I was going to make him regret ever being born.

"Why should I?"

"Oh, are you admitting defeat already?" Usui said in a tone that only made my blood boil as the edge of his lips quirked up a bit.

"What are you talking about? I'm not admitting anything!"

But despite my effort to fight back, he just went on as if I said nothing.

"I didn't know you were such a chicken, Misaki," he shook his head as if by disappointment.

"I am _not_ a – " I started, but was rudely interrupted by the blonde.

"Well, since you're already admitting my victory and that you're a coward…" his voice trailed off, clearly waiting for me to shout something to stop him from going any further, which, I am ashamed to say, I did.

"Fine! You want to watch a stinking horror movie? Go ahead!" I shouted as my finger pointed right at his fine face. "Because I am _not_ scared! Go pick the scariest movie! I don't care!"

But, of course, I did care. What was I thinking? I was scared as heck. I was a coward – and probably still am. So it probably wasn't really a surprise that I was shaking really badly when Usui and I came home with a horror movie inside my bag.

I volunteered to do the popcorn so that Usui would be the one setting up the movie. I couldn't stand even touching the disk; the sticker on its cover was scary enough to give me nightmares for the next 5 years or so.

As I punched the numbers on the microwave in the kitchen, I listed down the things I had to finish off before Monday.

_-Finish Student Council paperwork_

_-English essay_

_-Study for science test_

_-Finish that novel you borrowed last week_

And just when I thought that the list was finished, a voice appeared in my head.

…_Ankoku…_

That was odd. I had no business whatsoever with Ankoku. Well, not that I knew of, anyway. So why was his name in my head?

I focused on Ankoku and the stuff happening that involved him. That grand party was well over… He wasn't sexually harassing me anymore… And he had stopped blackmailing me, too. So that leaves us with the exorcism and the dagger, which was useless unless if Ankoku was planning to stab Usui with it. And I highly doubted that.

About the exorcism, though… Somehow I had an odd feeling about it. Not necessarily a bad feeling, just an odd one.

But I shook the thought aside as Usui called out to me for the fifth time, reminding me of the burning popcorn in the microwa –

The popcorn!

I snapped out of my daydream and quickly reached out to the microwave, which had grey smoke seeping out of it. Muttering a cuss word, I took out the burnt popcorn from the smoking microwave, burning my hands in the process because I was too engulfed in my thoughts to place a mitten on my hands first before sticking it in the metal box of inferno.

"Are you alright? Took you quite a while just to – what are those foul-smelling, black rocks doing in the bowl?" Usui stared horrifically at the glass bowl on my hands as I settled down on the couch beside him.

"I burnt the popcorn. Eat it or leave it," I plopped the bowl down on his lap.

"I don't think it's edible even if I force myself to eat it," he said.

I leaned my back on Usui's shoulder and stretched my legs towards my half of the couch. "Then leave it," I muttered, still quite disturbed about my previous thoughts.

So there was the dagger. And then the exorcism. And Ankoku. Add those together and we would get… A huge mess of things.

I mean, I guess Ankoku could use the dagger to stab Usui, therefore carrying out an exorcism. But how would Ankoku do it? Usui wouldn't let Ankoku stab him so freely, would he?

Then that was when I got a pang on my gut. Maybe I shouldn't be just focusing on Ankoku. Maybe I should also consider Usui into the picture as well.

So let's see… Usui… What was happening that involved Usui in the equation…

Nothing much, really. Well, nothing that I could remember at that time, anyway.

"Wow, I'm impressed. You're not crying and wetting your pants like how I thought you would," Usui's voice brought me back to reality.

I shook the thought off my head and said, "Of course I won't wet my pants just because of a movie!"

I moved my eyes to the flat-screen TV Suzuna won the past summer, and thanked myself for being so easily taken away by a thought. The movie was about halfway over and right then, the character – a girl in a stupid dress that looked like it was made out of monkey fur – was discussing about buying a new house because the one she was living in then was 'haunted' with her husband, who looked like he regretted ever marrying her.

And then I remembered that I had another English assignment to work on that was due on Monday, too. The teacher gave it to us almost a month ago – when my mom fell ill and I needed to fill her up at her job – that I forgot I still hadn't finished it.

And what made matters even worse was that I didn't bring the book I needed to have to do the assignment home.

Great.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath.

Usui turned his head towards me and asked casually, "What's wrong?"

I scratched my head in frustration and stood up. "No," I said. "Just forgot to bring a book home for an assignment that's due Monday."

I paced around the room, intentionally avoiding the TV, thinking about what I should do. It was already late at night and the security guards wouldn't be too pleased with me begging them to let me in. But school wouldn't be open tomorrow – the security guards have a break every Saturday. And if I take it on Sunday, I wouldn't have enough time to finish the assignment in time and still get a good grade for it.

Argh, what the hey. I'll just take it now.

I, fortunately still in my uniform, walked towards the hallway where I always place my shoes before doing anything else. "I'll go to school for a while, Usui. Be back in a sec," I said before pulling out a pair of track shoes and pulling them on my feet.

Just as I was standing up, Usui materialized in front of me, looking bewildered at my previous statement.

"What, and you think your boyfriend is going to allow you to go out in the middle of the night?" He asked, carefully positioning himself so that it would be hard for me to get to the door.

"It's nothing, really. I'll just go for a while and come back. School and back, I promise. Please?" I pleaded.

He shook his head in pity. "I'll get it for you. Being a ghost comes with its own privileges, you know?"

Right. Of course. Usui could teleport from my house to his one in England just as easily as inhaling a breath. I should've remembered.

"Right," I muttered, not in sarcasm. "Okay, I need my English book. You know, the one with the blue cover. Yea, that and a pack of bubble gums. You'll find them in my locker. I didn't lock it, so be free to open it. Be back in 5 minutes or you'll be watching that movie alone."

He chuckled and pecked my cheek.

"Be right back, and then you'll be forced to watch the whole movie with me. And this time, I won't allow you daydreaming."

"Kay, bye – Wait, so you knew I was daydreaming?"

And just as my fist was about to sink in his stomach, he vanished.

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><p><strong>How did you like it? I wrote this in different days in midnight, so I'm afraid that it may be bad. If it is then I'm terribly sorry!<strong>

**Please review!**


	35. Chapter 35

**I really love how this chapter turned out to be, and I'm really very excited about you guys reading it. SO, without further ado, LET THE 35th CHAPTER BEGIN! (LOL.)**

**Reviews will be answered in the next chapter, which I have already finished about half.**

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><p>I made my way back to the couch, where I paused the movie before a scary part comes out again. Watching the movie with Usui was scary, but watching it alone would be taking horror to a whole new level.<p>

Groggily, I lifted my legs and hugged them against my chest. What should I do now, I kept on asking myself. Surely, I couldn't just stay there for a whole 5 minutes. I was as restless as my pet guinea pig Suzuna won years ago, before it eventually died because of its age – it was already old even before we got it.

I stood up, thinking that walking would be better than sitting down, and paced around the house, going to and fro the kitchen and the living room, cursing under my breath whenever I trip on a rotten wood board. And I'll spare you all the boring things I thought about; I can guarantee that it wasn't about Usui.

As I was returning to the couch, after having soaked my under garment with sweat, I realized that it had been a whole ten minutes. And still no sign of Usui whatsoever. Surely, taking a book and a pack of bubblegum wouldn't take so long for a ghost, who can just teleport here and there without lifting a finger. So what gives?

I won't lie to you, by then I was starting to panic. My heart smashed against my ribs, and I swear that I heard one of them crack. My palms started to sweat, but I quickly wiped it against my school skirt. My breaths became quick and shallow as my mind jumped into scenarios that gave me shivers down my spine. And it wasn't the good shivers that I was longing to get, unfortunately.

"Come on, Usui..." I hissed under my breath, gritting my teeth in frustration. Or nervousness, I forgot which. "Get back here..."

After a long while of gritting my teeth up to where it would crack if I was to continue gritting, something inside me snapped. I wasn't sure what exactly, but it gave me the urge to go to school and grab that pervert pig's ass back to the couch. (I could deal with the horror movie later.) And considering how bad I was twitching inside, not going to school wasn't an option.

I pulled on my boots – extra protection in case I needed to kick some serious butt – and tied up my hair into a single ponytail – wouldn't want to have my hair sticking all over my face in the middle of a fight, now, would I?

I walked out, clenching the hem of my skirt when the cold wind slapped my face and bit the skin of my thighs. I should've changed into a pair of sweatpants, but it would just be a waste of my time if I went in to change again. So I ignored the coldness of the night and took off.

Despite the bitter wind and the ever-growing darkness, the night was rather peaceful. Practically all the windows on the block were dark, covered with opaque curtains – people on my block don't like sleeping late. The night was so silent that I could hear the crickets chirp, something that I rarely enjoyed since my father left my family and me because of the jobs and school work.

It was sad, though, that I couldn't enjoy it while it lasted. Because just as the peacefulness engulfed me, I remembered that I needed to save Usui from whatever was harming him. Or, if nothing was harming him at all, bring his ass back to my home and finish that movie. Renting that movie cost an absurd amount of money.

"You better not be playing a prank, idiot," I muttered as I started running towards the school, which was starting to appear behind all the trees and twisting paths.

The school wasn't as creepy as I thought it would look like at night. Since it was quite an ancient building, some tourists would come at night to look at the things left from history. And the fountain, the thing that attracts most of the tourist, in the middle of the small grass field in front of the school was lit by silver lamps hanging from the boughs of trees. It was still on, which would explain the splashing sound I heard from a yard away.

I tore my gaze away from the trickling flow of silver and went in search for the glowing ghost. Because, no matter how mesmerizing the fountain could be, Usui's emerald orbs were _way_ more interesting to look at than liters and liters of shimmering water.

When I arrived to my locker – the locker that had inappropriate stickers of demon heads on it, thanks to the male students in school – I was not only surprised but a strike of fear punched me in the gut.

Because there in the corner of the hallway, the door to my full-length locker was slightly ajar, my English book and an opened pack of bubble gum laid messily on the tiled floor. But the most disturbing part of it was the object beside my book. And no, it wasn't the dagger or a trail of blood, although that would be really nauseating. But, no, it was way worse than those.

It was the Thing.

The notepad/origami spaceship-like thing that I folded.

The thing that I had threw to the floor in class.

_The one that Ankoku had picked up and stuffed in his pocket._

My hands shaking and teeth chattering, I leaned down to take it. And as I was unfolding it, my heart trashed around my ribcage, knocking the air out of my own lungs. And it stopped when I fully finished unfolding it.

Because there, on the piece of notepaper that I had used as scratch paper to solve an equation, was a picture of candles forming a ring with symbols inside.

The exact thing you would need to carry out Mecumba – Brazilian voodoo.

Exorcism.

And I would know this because I saw it in the page that Ankoku showed me in class just before he blackmailed me to go to the grand party with him.

Around the circle of candles were words over my math equations. I couldn't read what it read, though, but I was sure that it was in Portuguese, anyway.

And to add to the horror I was suffering through, the crickets stopped chirping and a strangled cry sounded and echoed down the hall, making it even more heart-clenching.

But no, it wasn't the echoes that made my knees buckled and fall. It wasn't the yell of pain, either. But rather, _whose_ yell of pain it was.

Because, unless I was so nervous that my ears were going deaf, it was _his_ shout.

Usui's shout.

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><p><strong>How'd you like it? Good? Bad? I'm sorry if my words in the beginning got your hopes up for something that will blow your mind, but I just love how this chapter unfolds itself!<strong>

**Please review!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Heeeyyyy! I'm really excited about the ending of this story that I just can't stop writing! I mean, I love this series and all, and ending it would be sad and hard, but I just love the ending so much that I just _have_ to write more! Therefore, I'm here with another update even though chapter 35 has just gone out yesterday. Back to daily updates!**

**Reviews:**

**CHAPTER 34**

**fateMoon: LOL, I heard that a LOT! Even my teacher who read the series said that the ending was horrible.**

**Raina Rasberry: I know. When I reread my previous stories, I hated them, too. Although I'm just thankful that my writing has improved now :p**

**kaiwa: Saw the movie on Saturday and I absolutely LOVED IT! Although, yeah, they skipped Madge, the leg and the ear... Sad...**

**Bevy: It's okayy.**

**UsagiKuro: Fluffy without overdoing it. That's really creative how you use the word.**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: Aww, thanks.**

**usuixmisaki: LOL, that is the 10th time I heard that. Guess it does suck, huh? I haven't finished reading Mockingjay, though. Had a lot of work to do.**

**violentshade: Okay, make that the 11th time I heard that.**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: Yeah, I was planning to do something like that, but I thought that this way was better for the plot. Sorry.**

**dawn: 12th time I heard that Mockingjay is bad. Wow, is it _really_ that bad? And that's a great idea right there! I'll consider it first.**

**blackopalz21: Not when the ghost teleport.**

**CHAPTER 35**

**usuixmisaki: I honored that you compared my work to the Hunger Games! Although my work isn't as great as Suzanne Collins's, so I really don't deserve the praise ;/;**

**Raina Rasberry: I was planning to do that, but I figured that having the fans already knowing how the character act and most of the story is easier for me to write a story. I wrote one chapter story last time, but I didn't upload it, though. Maybe next time if I have time.**

**arissamei-chan: Haha, I _love_ suspense! And it's okay, you have a life outside fanfic, too.**

**fateMoon: LOL, I seem so cruel with all the suspense and anxiety chapters, don't I? LOOOOLLL.**

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><p>I was sick. I didn't do anything but to sit and listen at my boyfriend yelling in intense pain. Don't get me wrong, it made my heart ache, hearing him that way, but my system wouldn't receive the message that my brain sent.<p>

And he shouted again.

And he shouted again.

I should've been panicking. After all, my ghost boyfriend was evidently in pain, caused by the prone of satan from hell himself that could perform an exorcism. But I didn't panic. I was numb from the outside world. It felt like a dream. It _all_ felt like a dream. The fact that Usui was, to quote him directly, 'drawn' into me. The fact that I was dating him. The accident that took away Usui's life. And that I had two guys, literally, fighting to death for me. A sweet yet horrible dream, but a dream nonetheless.

And suddenly, there was silence. The crickets started chirping again. I could hear the fountain's splashes again. There was peace.

That was when I started panicking.

I knew why the crickets had stopped chirping. They could feel the paranormal activity happening around them. All animals could. And when they start to go back to doing their usual habits again, that's the sign that, whatever supernatural disturbance that have been around, is gone.

And now that the crickets were chirping again, did that mean that…

…Usui was gone?

I sprang up to my feet, feeling the adrenaline rush in my blood flowing like a clear river. I wasn't scared anymore.

I was enraged.

I ran towards the direction where the sound had come from, before it stopped. I ignored the cold bitter wind slashing against my face and exposed limbs; my anger warmed me up. I ignored the fact that I might be killed tonight, under the hands of the very person who had ever invited me to a dance. I ignored all the trifling matters that surrounded me and focused solely to the anger and hatred I had for Ankoku. For Usui's death.

But most of it was reserved for myself. For being such a weakling. For not seeing this coming. For ever trusting that dumbass Ankoku.

I ran through the basketball court, not caring whenever I trip over balls all over the court. I ran through the soccer field, cursing out loud whenever my foot got stuck into a hole the soccer players dug. I ran through the woods, kicking and lashing the vines and roots away from my feet. And by the time I arrived to the cemetery across the other side of the woods, I would bet that I looked like those homeless guys on the street who wear those 'Will work for money' signs around their necks.

Panting, I looked for signs for a soul. Living or dead, any one would do. And a spirit I found. No, actually, make that two spirits.

"Usui!" I shouted, trying to get his attention.

In the far line of the horizon, there were two small dark figures. One was unconscious and the other one was trying to stand up, only to end up falling on top of the unconscious one. I couldn't make out which was Usui and which was Ankoku, because the clouds had covered the moon above and the nearest street lamp was about six yards away, and it only had a single 50-watt bulb. And the glow that Usui usually emitted seemed non-existent.

"Ankoku! Whatever you're doing, stop it!" I shrieked, running towards the two figures in hope that I could stop whatever bad thing that was happening.

And I arrived just in time to witness something gut-wrenching.

Ankoku, unfortunately, was the one trying to stand up while Usui laid with his eyes closed and mouth apart beside him. I gasped.

Because not only was Usui unconscious, he was also in a pretty bad shape. His nose and corner of his lips were bleeding severely and there were bruises and cuts all over his body and face. And I was sure that whatever power Ankoku used against Usui, it wasn't all human, considering how fresh and not-going-to-heal-soon it looked.

Ankoku wasn't looking so good himself, either. He had an eye swollen shut, and a broken nose, too.

Gee, what's with boys and breaking people's noses?

"Ankoku!" I hissed. "What in the world are you _doing?_"

He got on all fours and wiped the blood away from his nose, only to hurt it even more. "Got into a male-to-male fight. The usual," he said.

I couldn't believe it. Out of the times he could spit out a joke, he decided to do it then.

"I'm serious! There's nothing usual about a ghost-and-human combat!" I said while kneeling down beside Usui, taking in his disfigured face. "Oh, baby. Are you alright?"

A muffled sound escaped Usui's mouth, making him sound like a half-dead chameleon.

No, actually, I don't know how a half-dead chameleon would sound. So ignore my previous attempt of figurative language. All you need to know is that Usui was trying to tell me something, only to choke on the blood in his mouth. Either that or that he couldn't handle the pain of creating a sound.

"Shh," I hushed, wanting Usui to make a sound no more. "It's okay. I'm here… You'll be fine."

Tears trickled down my cheeks as I continued to caress Usui's face. Or rather, the parts of Usui's face that hadn't been covered y bruises or cuts.

"You'll be fine," I repeated, sounding like a half-dead cockroach.

I have got to stop imagining half-dead animals.

I didn't know why I was crying. It wasn't like Usui was going to die or anything, since, of course, he already was. Dead, I mean. And it wasn't like Ankoku stabbed him with the dagger or anything…

Wait. What if Ankoku did? And I was just too late to prevent it from happening?

I whirled around quickly, finding Ankoku already on his feet, swaying like a drunkard. He was eyeing us, sort of with envy and hurt in his eyes.

"You're better off with me, Misaki," Ankoku started, and I felt like throwing a rock to his head. "He's dead! You won't be able to enjoy the rest of your teen years if this is to continue!"

"S-shut up…" I muttered under a sob. But I guess it wasn't loud enough, seeing how Ankoku continued stating out how 'better' he was compared to Usui.

"How would you even go to a date? Walk alone in a mall and eat alone in a five star restaurant?" His voice got louder. "It's ridiculous!"

"I said," I said, louder this time, "shut up!"

Ankoku, startled by my sudden outburst, took an unsteady step back. But he regained his composure a second after.

"I don't care if I'm wasting my teen years dating him!" I shouted, tears flowing in a steady stream. "It's already ruined, anyway, what with all work to cover up for my dad's coward ass! And I don't care if we can't go to the mall, or eat in a five-star restaurant. Those are just a waste of money, anyway – "

"No! You listen to me first, Misaki. Usui won't age until who-knows-how-long! When you're 30 and working at a damn job, Usui would still look the same. 17 and young and as carefree as a 3-year old child! Will you still not care then?"

This struck me in the head. Hard. Because, of course, I didn't want it to happen like that. I didn't want to live alone with a 17-year old living with me when I'm a grandma. I mean, I was sure Usui was my destined lover, but living with a teen-lover when you're in the age of having a grandchild wouldn't be fun, I promise you that.

But then, if Usui was my destined lover, it would work out for us, wouldn't it? Something was ought to happen to allow us to be a normal couple, right?

So I stood my ground and said, in the best filled-with-dignity voice I could manifest, "I don't care. Something is ought to work out for us; we're destined for each other."

Ankoku looked at me for a while, looking odd and unbelieving.

And then he laughed.

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><p><strong>How's that for adventure?<strong>

**Please review!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Told you I am excited as heck.**

**Reviews:**

**Fafy x3: I only thought that Misaki would do that if she was in that condition. Wouldn't everyone? And no, your English is not bad!**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: His corrupted mind says so :p**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: I think everybody hopes so, too. LOL.**

**usuixmisaki: LOL. When I read 'hole', I thought about Alice in the Wonderland XD**

**Sarah9797: You may punch him anytime, just be sure you're wearing gloves ;)**

**fateMoon: Well, what can I say? I'm really excited.**

**arissamei-chan: YES! LOL haha jkjk. But I am working on my atmosphere making.**

**UsagiKuro: I know how you feel. does that to me, too, sometimes.**

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><p>"What?" I blurted, choking on a sob. "What's so funny about what I just said?"<p>

Ankoku stopped laughing and looked me in the eyes, which was hard, considering how one of his eyes was swollen shut.

"I'm afraid that you're just too naïve for your own good, Misaki," he shook his head in pity. "It doesn't work that way. It's called reality, in case you haven't noticed, and it's not as fair as you think it is."

I looked down to Usui's face. Still faintly glowing against the darkness of the night, complementing the look of ill on his face.

"No, it doesn't," I agreed, my voice calm and sad. "I have experienced reality a lot of times, unfortunately, and I know how it works."

Fresh tears formed in my eyes as I remembered how my dad left my family and me to defend ourselves, to survive the cruelness of life alone, without a male to protect us. And when I learned to never trust a single person ever again, in fear that they will only let me fall yet again.

Ankoku chuckled and said, "Good, then you should've known better than to say what you said previously. About things working out for you guys."

I felt Usui's hand reached over to me and I grabbed if gently, squeezing if lightly to soothe him down.

"But you don't know what reality had done for us in the past," I said next, bluntly, as I patted Usui's palm and drew soothing circles on it. I was afraid that it would tickle, but he didn't react so I guess that it didn't. Tickle, I mean.

A faint sound escaped Ankoku's mouth.

"Pardon?" he said, in a very surprised tone.

I was the one who chuckled this time, although my chuckle was bitter and humorless, unlike Ankoku's, which was full of sarcasm and arrogance.

"Yes, Ankoku. There were obstacles that we faced in previous years. And although those weren't as extreme as this one, but I'm sure that it will work out in the end. I'm sure that this is just something to strengthen our love for each other," I said calmly, my eyes not once wavering from the blonde on my lap.

Ankoku was silent for a while, and I really thought that my passionate speech – psh, passionate, yeah right – got into him. But I was disappointed when I heard him let out a long, tire sigh, as if I was some kid he had to deal with.

I had to let it go. There was no point in trying to dictate what Ankoku thought. It didn't matter what he thought, anyway, because it was none of his freaking business. He had no right to be messing up and criticizing my relationship with Usui.

"Yeah, you think it's like that. But have you ever thought about what it's like for him?" Ankoku muttered in the middle of a chuckle.

My eyes widened as this caught my attention. What did he mean by what was it like for Usui? I mean, I was sure that Usui would feel the same way as I did. I was sure he didn't disagree when I said that we were destined for each other, did he?

No, of course he didn't. What was I thinking?

"Have you ever bothered to ask yourself – heck, ask him – about how it's like for him as a ghost?" Ankoku continued. "It's not all that easy, being a ghost, you know?"

I faced him, eyes narrowing in accusation. "Oh yeah?" I said. "And how would you know that?"

He sighed and replied, "I deal with them all the time. Practically every single day in my life I need to deal with the Undead. So it makes the job easier if I knew what being one of my preys is like, you know? Although, usually I would just go ahead and kick a ghost's ass back to the realm of the Underworld. You know, until they get transported to their final resting place. This is probably the longest time I took dealing with one ghost only."

My brows went up in surprise, but forced it back down once I remembered that I needed to look strong, not clueless.

"And why is that?" I blurted out.

Ankoku looked at me. And I meant looked as in he really looked at me. His swollen eyes boring into my teary ones, he said, "Because I can't stand to see you in pain."

This was definitely not the answer I was expecting.

"I have been looking after you for some time, Misaki," Ankoku said, his face grave and sad. "Ever since the doctor announced Usui's death, I knew that he was going to become a ghost and go back to you. I saw you cry, I saw you have nightmares every time you try to sleep. I saw you faint on the street and brought you back. And I've been in love with you ever since."

My eyes widened and I didn't bother to change its size. I needed to show him how surprised I was. But I was really shocked to hear that last part coming out of his mouth.

No, not the part where he said he loved me, although that was shocking. But the one where he said he was the one carrying me back. I had always assumed that it was Usui who brought me back and changed me, but –

Wait. If what he said was true, than that means…

"You were the one who _changed_ me?" I demanded as my cheeks caught in flame.

Ankoku was surprised to be addressed in this manner, but he replied still, "Well, I guess you can say it that way."

And before I could snap and punch his head off, he quickly added, "But I didn't see anything! I swear!"

"Explain how you could do it without seeing anything!" I growled.

"I-I have powers! The one that Usui has, too, if he ever mentioned it to you."

Usui had mentioned it to me. When I was about to accuse him of intruding my personal space, too, when he had changed me.

I regained my calm as I let Ankoku continue.

"But all that aside, I wasn't lying when I said that I love you. I really do. And I know that our first meeting had been a total disaster, and I'm really sorry. But that was because I couldn't help myself. You fascinate me so much that I had no more bit of self-control left," said Ankoku in a tone that would make anyone have pity on him. With the exception of me, of course, because I knew better than to trust people so easily.

"I don't believe you. And I probably never will," I muttered bluntly as if his feelings were no concern of mine. But maybe that was because it wasn't. "So go home while you still have some dignity left inside that hollow shell of yours and leave me and Usui alone."

"Of course," he said. "But it isn't my feelings that are important here, is it? But your little ghost boyfriend."

I gasped a little, wishing that he didn't notice it. But judging by the chuckle that he let out after it, he did.

"What business do you have left with Usui? I told you to leave us alone," I said in the sternest voice I could muster then, but my voice failed me by cracking in the end.

I saw his mouth twitch before he said, "I am giving you a choice. A choice that will determine where he will be going after tonight. And not to mention how your destiny would change depending on your choice."

I held my breath, thinking if this was only a trap. A trap designed to make me believe that all his words are true. Including the one where he said the 'L' word.

"I'm giving you the choice to choose," Ankoku went on, "whether or not to give Usui back the life he deserves."

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><p><strong>Hmm, I just noticed that, while I've gained some new readers lately (HI! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!), some of the old readers aren't making an appearance... Well, no matter. They have a life out of FF.<strong>

**Please review!**


	38. Chapter 38

**I love this chapter really badly. I hope you do, too. (But, considering the turn of events inside this, I highly doubt so.)**

**Reviews:**

**Al-Orange Ninja: I will, in the epilogue. (YES, there will be an epilogue.)**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: LOL, I love that part, too.**

**Fafy x3: Aw, thanks. I'm sure that you'll learn it fast. Keep on working hard!**

**Sarah9797: *wink* *wink* I'm resisting the urge of giving you a spoiler. But no, I shouldn't.**

**crying angel: No, it's okay. I didn't get to update daily often, too, in this story, thanks to all the work that has been given to me.**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: *drumrolls***

**blackopalz21: Wow, that's a LOT of sorries you've got there. LOL. No, it's okay. You have a life outside if FF.**

**UsagiKuro: I knew that a lot of people don't really take the time to think about it, so I decided to actually tell you guys how it's like :p**

**Ripplerose: I'm really honored! ;/; But, no, I'm still an amateur.**

**99vampires: I'm glad to hear that :) Goodluck.**

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><p>I gaped at him for about what seemed like three hours, before asking, "What are you talking about?"<p>

He paced around the area, crunching dried leaves beneath his feet. He jammed his bloody hands inside to the pockets of his shirt and I noticed that he was still wearing his uniform, too.

"I'm giving you a choice," he said as if things were that simple.

But of course it wasn't. Because things were never so simple with me.

"What's the catch?" I asked, my voice as flat as the ground.

Ankoku pointed to me and nodded. "I love the way you think. So cautious and wary. Not easily trusting words," said the man in uniform.

"Just answer me," I said seriously. I hated the fact that Ankoku was acting as if this was a joke.

"Okay, gee," he made that _tsk tsk_ noise from the side of his cheek. "I'm giving you three choices. First, to let him stay in this condition." He motioned towards the blonde.

Usui tensed up as I was standing up. A voice escaped his mouth again, but I didn't sit back down. I needed to know what Ankoku was getting at before it was too late.

"Second, to just… _kill_ him and send him off for good," Ankoku continued.

The atmosphere got heavier and heavier as he spoke; each word seemed to add a hundred pounds to the weight. And the tension got so heavy that I was using all of my willpower to restrain myself from running away from that place and never think about it ever again, which was quite impossible, if you think about it.

"And third," he paused, as if to give a dramatic effect to what he was about to say, "is to give him back his life."

My heartbeat increased in speed as I waited for Ankoku to say what the consequences for each option was going to be.

"But, of course, even you know nothing this good comes for free," Ankoku looked pretty smug for a guy who had a swollen black eye and just got declined by a girl of his dreams, if what he had said about the 'L' word was true, "so here's the catch. For the first option, he, your pathetic boyfriend, is going to suffer and watch his loved ones die around him while he stays the same. And, of course, who knows how long he is going to stay here? After all, he couldn't kill himself, even with the dagger. Only a human can do that for him."

This was a fact that Usui didn't know. If he had, then he probably wouldn't have came back down to the Universal plane.

"For the second choice I'd given, you, Misaki, would have your life back. But, of course, without Usui. Which is not that bad, considering how many guys are out there who are better than him."

God, what a self-praising pig…

"And for the last one…" Ankoku stared at his fingernails as if they were more important than what he was saying.

"The last one what?" I tried to fish out the answer out of him.

"Well, he would lose any memory of you and the stuff you guys have been through together whatsoever. Only you, though, since you're the only one who can see him in his ghost state," Ankoku finished off.

I was speechless for the next century or so, my eyes not leaving the ground of mud, as my mind swiveled around and around, thoughts crashing into each other.

I couldn't simply imagine life with Usui not knowing me. I mean, I guess I could make him fall for me again – however witchy that may sound – but that wouldn't be the same. We met by an accident. Forcing him to know me would just be plain wrong.

"So, Misaki, which are you going to choose?" Ankoku's voice pierced through my wall of thoughts and right through my central nervous system. "First, second or third?"

I felt that hot, prickly feeling in the back of my eyes that meant that tears were forming.

This was bad. I had been crying so hard that my eyes could barely see through the cloud of tears. But to make matters worse, I was given three impossible choices that would cost a lot. Not just for me, but for Usui, too. And I would only want the best for him.

So I did what any good girlfriend would do in situations like this.

I kissed Usui.

The kiss wasn't all that passionate and long, due to the fact that his lips were split open and bleeding and I was afraid that a long kiss would only hurt him.

"Third," I said, standing up.

I lifted my chin high and placed my shoulders set. I can do this, I told myself. I can do this.

I blinked and a stream of warm tears flowed down my cheeks. But despite the tears, I looked pretty confident in what I was about to do.

"Sorry?" Ankoku asked.

"Third. I choose the third," I said, louder and with less shaking this time.

Yes, this is the best choice; I kept that in my mind. For Usui and for yourself. You will have more time to study and work. And you won't need to care about the per – pervert – perverted – perverted pig…

No! You are not going to change your mind, Misaki. Your mind is set and third you chose!

"Very well, then," Ankoku said without a hint of disagreement in his voice. He took out a shiny thing from his pocket – the dagger – and handed it to me. "Go ahead. Picture him in real life, without all the glow and shimmer, in your head. And when you have completed your image – _only_ when you have completed your image – stab him with this."

I took the dagger with shaking hands and stared down at it. The last time I had seen it that close was when Usui was describing its use to me. And this would be the last time I would see it again, ever.

I swallowed the cotton ball in my throat and kneeled down beside Usui, who was still not that aware of what was happening around him. I braced myself for what I was going to do. For what was going to happen from this point onwards. For whatever was waiting for me and Usui in the future, whether if we were going to be a couple again, or if we were going to be enemies.

My heart was thrashing around my chest, going down to my stomach and up to my throat. My hands were shaking so hard that I wouldn't recommend anyone giving me glassware then.

I looked at Ankoku, wondering what was going to happen between _us_ when Usui completely forgets about me. He gave me a reassuring nod, and I entwined my fingers around the marble handle of the dagger.

I placed the dagger just right above Usui's heart. And thought about him.

I pictured him, wearing his school uniform, staring down at me with those emerald eyes. But no glow.

I pictured his blond hair, swaying with the wind, reflecting the moonlight at night. But no glow.

I pictured his strong arms, embracing me, holding me from falling down to whatever danger that lies ahead. But no glow.

And because it would be our last time together with him still remembering me as his girlfriend, I sang.

"_Hang on, my dear, to our everlasting memory_

_Remember what you can_

_This is our last day."_

I swallowed a bunch of mucus – I know, gross, but deal with it – and closed my eye shut even tighter.

"_Stay strong, my dear, to all the challenges that get by_

_Keep your faith in me_

_Our paths separate."_

I became aware of Ankoku's sniffles and my own voice cracking. But I proceeded, anyway, for there was only one stanza left to sing.

"_Goodbye, my dear, is never the permanent end_

_Pain always follows_

_Never will they last."_

I took a deep breath to minimize the trembling of my body. Closing my eyes so tight that tears fell like a stream of running water on a tap, I realized that my tears had dropped off my chin. Together with my tears was my blood, trickling out from my palm because I had been clenching the dagger so hard that one of the carvings had pierced right through my flesh.

"Misaki," I heard a soft murmur of my name being spoken out, but I ignored it.

I'm sorry, Usui, I thought. But this is for your own good.

And I slammed the dagger down.

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><p><strong>Yeah, I just made that song up randomly. It's not a real song that I copied off or anything.<strong>

**Please review!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Just wanted to tell you guys that this story is ending at chapter 40. But there will be an epilogue, so make that 41.**

**Reviews:**

**For the people who cried or nearly cried (which is about everyone who reviewed, LOL): IKR! I love writing tear jerkers! (Sorry I don't get to reply to you personally. I actually did write you guys personal replies, but then it got deleted when my computer crashed, so I'm really annoyed right now and I need to sleep soon. So yeeaaaa.)**

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><p>"Yukimura, what's with your shoes?" I asked, pointing towards his hideous neon-green sneakers. "No bright colors, remember?"<p>

He shifted from one foot to another, while replying, "Y-yes! But my school shoes are wet because of the storm yesterday, and I've got no other shoes, and slippers or flip-flops aren't allowed, and – "

I held up my hand to shush him up. "Okay, I understand. Go to class."

He looked at me with happy tears on the corner of his eyes before thanking me for letting him go this time and how my eyes were puffy. What was wrong?

"Nothing. Go to class," I repeated.

He got my message that I didn't want to talk about it and head to his class. Math, if I remember correctly.

But the reason for his quick dismissal was because my own eyes were near to watering. I didn't know what I was thinking when I decided to go to school today. I probably wasn't thinking at all.

Why had I come to school when I knew for sure that Usui would be there? Correction, when I knew for sure that Usui would be there but with no memory of me and our relationship whatsoever. It would only break my heart once more if Usui was to come up to me and ask who I am.

But no, I couldn't skip school just because of such trifling matter. Usui was a part of my past, and, as a wise man once said, the past should never be revisited. Learn from it, but don't dwell on it.

Well, I learned my lesson, all right. I learned that trusting Usui with my feelings was a mistake. It had only added up to the scars in my heart.

I blinked back all the tears that started to pile up in my eyes and continue to help my fellow Student Council colleague with their work of correcting students' attire. Usui is just a part of my past, I told myself. A part of my past that I shouldn't revisit.

But all the walls of comforting words and thoughts broke down when I saw who was approaching the school.

"It's been a whole week since he last came to school, Pres. Do you want me to take note of his attitude or…" Katata – the unfortunate dude who had to deal with students every morning for a whole academic year – said, his voice trailing off in the end because he knew I would stop him before anything else. Usually.

But I didn't. I just nodded and walked towards the main building of the school. Another second of the blonde and I would be crumbling down.

On my way back, I ignored the stares and whispers from the students on either side of me. I lifted my head high, closing my eyes to prevent the tears from spilling out, and took a deep breath. My heart rate slowed down and the tears receded. Once again, I thanked myself for ever reading 'How to Deal with Emotions'.

I opened my eyes just in time to catch one of the Student Council members going in to the school, and realized that I just left Katata to handle all the students alone, which wasn't a good option, considering how rebellious the student body could be. But I couldn't go back there. No, not when Usui was there. So I ordered the member to fill me up because I had something sudden to work on.

Entering the Student Council room, which was, fortunately, empty, I took another deep breath and sat down the President seat.

That was when all emotions broke loose.

Tears flowed out of my eyes like a bursting water pipe. I had no control whatsoever of what was happening around and with me. My eyes blinked and blinked and blinked and allowed more tears to escape. I couldn't bring up my hands to wipe any tears away, because letting it out just seemed so good.

I rested my forehead on my arms and cried against the wooden table. My head seemed ridiculously hot against my arms, and that was when I noticed the constant pounding of my head and the ringing in my ears. But that, I decided, was just the effects of crying too much. Or so I thought.

How could I live without Usui? Because, while it wasn't impossible that Usui would be mine again, chances were, a guy isn't going to fall for the same girl twice. He would probably end up with one of those girls who say that they were his one and true love. And Usui would believe them, because, of course, they were way better than a demon from hell.

I cried. I cried until my eyes could no longer produce a new batch of tears to give out. I cried until the long sleeves of my uniform got soaked. I cried until my throat became bone dry and my eyes bloodshot.

And that was when I finally realized how long I had been inside the room, bawling my eyes out. I should've just stayed home if I was going to cry like this. It would only cause me trouble and feel uncomforted.

Curse that stinking, perverted, idiot –

"Excuse me."

I held my breath and froze.

Who could that be? Shouldn't all students be in class?

Slowly, I straightened and looked to the direction of the sound. And I felt a mix of joy, grief and pain in my stomach. Joy because it was always the feeling I felt whenever I saw him. Grief and pain because I remembered that he wasn't the guy I used to know before anymore.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" I asked bitterly, still lightly sobbing.

"That goes for you, too, no?" Usui replied, his usual playfulness showing clearly.

"Go to class. I have… things to do," I replied while resting my head back onto my wet arms.

"Yeah. Cry until you go blind. That's definitely something to do in school," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. His remark was followed by faint footsteps that got louder and louder until it eventually stopped, right beside me.

"Go away," I grunted.

Then I felt the weight of his head on the crook of my neck.

I tried to wrench my head away from his, as I knew that if this continued, I would only fall for him even harder. But I had cried for so long and with so much energy that I had got none left. Besides, it seemed as if he intentionally made his head weigh a ton.

"Get… away from… me!" I struggled to get free.

I heard him inhale sharply, taking my scent, I suppose. That was what Usui said when I asked him why he kept on doing that. But that was before. Before I pierced that dagger into his chest.

"You smell like lavender," he whispered in my ear in that provocative tone he always used at times like this.

I swear I could feel my cheeks heat up.

"That," I spat out, "would be because of my lavender shampoo! Now can you _please_ get _off?_"

Much to my dismay, he didn't do as I said. Instead, he shushed me soothingly and murmured, "Lady, you shouldn't be crying in school and in school hours."

What he said echoed in my mind. He had called me 'Lady'. Not Ayuzawa, nor Misa-chan.

Lady.

And if that wasn't bad enough, I could've sworn that his tone was formal.

Every bit of hope that gathered in me when Usui leaned down on me vanished as I absorbed this in. His formality, the way he addressed me. They were all evidence that my pain had begun.

And the sad thing was, the person to whom I usually console my sorrow to, was the one who caused it this time.

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><p><strong>Sooo, what do you think? I personally don't think this is anything compared to the one before, but that's just me and I'm no judge. And if you guys are just craving <strong>**for fluffiness (NOTE: SPOILER ALERT!)**

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**There will be much of that in chapter 40 and a few in the epilogue.**

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**Please review!**


	40. Chapter 40 END

**Oh my... What do you know? It's the final chapter. (Well, no really if you include the epilogue that I'm going to upload tomorrow.) So sad. But I'll spare you my notes (or acknowledgement, in books) for tomorrow's epilogue. I want you to read this as fast as you can! I hope you're happy with my ending!**

**Reviews:**

**Al-Orange Ninja: *grins creepily***

**crying angel: LOL, who doesn't love fluffy?**

**Sarah9797: Yeah, I do want to write a sequel to this, but I like where I left Usui and Misaki in the ending, so yeaaaa. I'll think about it, though.**

**usuixmisaki: HIHIHIHIHI. lol**

**WanderingDreamer4Ever: I love tragic stories. Well, most of them, anyway.**

**blackopalz21: Nyaww, you cried. LOL.**

**Padfoot Stafyre: *grins like a maniac***

**Bevy: Thankss! You're just in time for the ending!**

**fateMoon: I assume that the 3-day trip is for Easter? LOL, I spent my 3-day weekend at home writing chapters :p**

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><p>A new group of tears gathered on my eyes, proving once again that there was no limit as to how much tears a human eye could produce.<p>

"Get off me," I said softly, as I was focusing on how to prevent the new tears from escaping my eyes.

There was silence.

The atmosphere became heavy, with a glint of sadness hanging in the air. Usui wasn't making a sound; only his breathing and mine did. Our heartbeats beating in perfect unison. It was a sweet moment. Almost perfect.

_Almost._

"Tell me one good reason why I should," Usui whispered in my ear, his voice filled with…

_...hurt?_

I didn't know what to say to him. Part of me wanted to tell him because it would hurt so much if I was to fall for him even harder when he had no more clue as to who I was and who I meant to him. The other part of me wanted to just stay there, enjoying the moment while it lasts.

But I couldn't do either. The former, because he would think that I was a complete psycho. The latter, because then it would only hurt me when he finally gets off me.

"Just… Get off me," I mutter, a streak of tears managing to escape one of my swollen eyes. "_Please._"

"Tell me why," he said.

Usui scooped my hair and placed it on the side where his head was on, and snaked his head towards the other side of my neck, his nose touching my nape all the way, giving me tingles.

Then I thought of something to answer him that would still hide our past together.

"Because you're not supposed to be here," I said, my voice shaking because of the crying and the ticklish feeling Usui was giving me.

"You're not, too," he whispered, his breath brushing my bare skin.

My heart was beating hard against my chest. Now because of the distance between the blonde and me. He wasn't my boyfriend anymore, so it was wrong that he was so close to me.

So wrong, and yet I was so glad that he was.

And so, I decided to go upfront. "Because you don't know me."

Usui remained silent and I thought, just for a second there, that he was going to say, "I do know you. You're my girlfriend and I love you so much." But sadly, my weird delusion didn't come true.

Instead, he agreed, "No, I don't know you."

My second spark of hope diminished again, leaving me numb and, well, hopeless.

"S-so go away," I muttered, voice shaking. "You have no business here and you d-don't know me. S-so why do you care about what I d-do here?"

Again, silence filled the room. But this time, it was only for a brief moment before Usui did something completely out of anyone's wildest imagination.

He _sang_.

"_Hang on, my dear, to our everlasting memory_

_Remember what you can_

_This is our last day."_

His voice was shaking, as if he was keeping back tears, like how I had been doing before. His breath tickled on my skin as he continued.

"_Stay strong, my dear, to all the challenges that get by_

_Keep your faith in me_

_Our paths separate"_

Now I felt something cold on my uniform. Something that felt like… _tears._

"_Goodbye, my dear, is never the permanent end_

_Pain always follows…"_

His voice trailed off for a while, before rejoicing with mine.

"…_Our paths separate."_

I let out a faint gasp as I lifted my head a little, just a little because Usui's head was still there weighing down on the crook of my neck.

"I don't know who this person is," whispered Usui, shifting his head against the side of my head and neck. "I don't know who this weakling is. Who is this crying girl? Who is this vulnerable lady? Why is she so weak and fragile?"

My heart started to speed even faster, but this time it was for a whole other reason.

The hope that had been appearing and vanishing made its appearance again, only now it was one level above in a Richter scale than the previous ones. Thirty times more powerful, and ten times the shaking.

How's that for a geography reference?

"What have you done to my girlfriend?" He asked, sounding so in pain. "What have you done with my strong, brave President?"

Oh _yes!_ Yes, yes, yes, _yes!_

My hope surfaced through the dark clouds of sorrow. And all I could think of was the one thing I had been grieving for and how things were going uphill then.

Usui knew me. Usui remembered me. And he was alive.

He was breathing, and not just because he was still stuck with some stupid habit. He was breathing because he had a heart beating inside his chest. He heart was beating. He had a breath.

He was alive and he knew me.

He knew me as his girlfriend.

He _knew_ me.

"Usui," I started, but was interrupted when Usui quickly cupped my cheeks with both of his hands to turn my face a little to the side, and kissed me.

He kissed me with passion. I could feel it through his lips. The lips that emitted heat, unlike when he was a ghost. The lips that I had been longing to feel on mine again.

I kissed him back with the same amount of passion, if not more. I felt all my emotions burning through my bloodstreams, going up to my lips. I knew that if someone was to catch us, I would be dead meat. But everything seemed so right, that I didn't care about my role as President.

Slowly, I turned my body – easy, thanks to the rolling chair I was sitting on – so that I was fully facing him. I wanted to stand up, so that Usui wouldn't have to lean down all the time, but I felt that, with all the emotions and passion, my legs would fail me the second I put pressure to them.

"I missed you," muttered Usui in between kisses. "I missed you a lot."

I stayed quiet as we continued our bonding. Our bodies merged as one as we savored each other's company. Our heartbeat became faster, quicker, as the passion burned through us.

He was alive. And he remembered me.

His hand snaked around my waist and traveled down my back, but not anywhere that he knew I would feel uncomfortable at. To protect my virtue, I supposed. But to be frank, I really didn't mind at that point.

I missed him so much. The warmth he gave out, the heartbeat in his chest, his breath on my skin, the tingle that he leaves at touch. To say that I missed him a lot would be an understatement to the grossest proportions.

And when the need of oxygen surfaced, we stayed together in an embrace. Our hearts slowing down, the red of my face receding.

"I missed you," Usui whispered.

"I don't understand…" I said once I was sure that my throat could work again. "Ankoku said that you would lose all memories of me – of _us_ – whatsoever."

That was when he looked me in the eyes for the first time since his resurrection. His green orbs melting with my hazel ones.

He smiled warmly at me and shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe he was wrong."

And that was when he scooped me up bridal style, despite my struggling, and kissed me again.

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><p><strong>Everybody say 'Awwww!' with me! LOL. So how was it? Did you like it?<strong>

**Please review!**

**-THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE! SO BE SURE TO READ IT TOMORROW!**-****


	41. Epilogue and Acknowledgement

**OMGG! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS! When I woke up this morning (GMT +7), my email was bombarded with review alerts! You have no idea how that made my day. And after school, when I received my phone back, I've got another dozen of emails! I even postponed my Student Council meeting for a few minutes just to read all of them! You guys are the best!**

**Reviews:**

**karynperovsyte: Details about Ankoku will be in this chapter :) A few of them, anyway.**

**angelKWMSfan17: It's okay, you have life outside of FF. (Wonder how much time I said that in this one story.)**

**Raina Rasberry: I know. That's another disadvantage of writing in , you just can't help yourself from giving out mini spoilers. Well, I can't, anyway.**

**xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx: That was how my mom reacted when I got all those review alerts :p**

**crying angel: I know right... It's so sad...**

**ICCFOWIGSM: KWMS FTW~**

**anon: Read this epilogue and you'll know how ;)**

**Sarah9797: THANKS! As to what I'll be doing from now on, it'll be discussed in the acknowledgement below.**

**blackopalz21: Don't worry, my friends made me imagine way more disturbing stuff than a victory dance.**

**Al-Orange Ninja: Thanks! You're so kind :)**

**ShadowKiss123: Yeah, I feel that way often. Wish we could submit stories without needing to log in.**

**kyofan101: I LOVE YOU, TOO!**

**violetshade: Thanks! I really loved chapter 40 as well.**

**Christnopher: Wow. You read... fast.**

**usuixmisaki: Reminds me of the moe moe omelet. LOL.**

**Lost Grey Soul: I've started writing the first 2 chapters but still am struggling with the plot. I may have to postpone the new story... Anyway, I'll send you a message when it's up.**

**Ripplerose: :D :D :D**

**fateMoon: IKR! LOL. I love the ending, too. FLUFFY~~**

**-Acknowledgement below-**

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><p>"<em>Dear, Misaki.<em>

_Here I am, writing to you because I knew that I will never see you again after tonight. The night where you made your decision. I really hope that you didn't regret it._

_I just wanted to say that I'm blessed to ever meet a girl like you. Strong, intelligent and beautiful, these words can't even convey what you are. And it probably wasn't just luck that I fell for your charms, whether you believe it or not._

_But you don't belong with me. You belong with Usui. Tonight, you showed me what true love is. You gave Usui his life back, despite knowing that he won't have the slightest clue as to who you are and what you are to him. And yet you still acted on your heart, and not your feelings and emotions. You knew what was best for him, even though it was painful for you. Thank you for that._

_By the time you're reading this, I would be on an airplane to Florence, Italy, in search for who I'm destined to be with. I know, it's a weird place to be finding for a woman of my dreams, but I had a sudden urge to go there and so I followed my heart._

_You've given me the message that love is eternal. That it can't be forced, it can't be bought. It is pure and it blooms in the places where we never thought it would. It lasts forever._

_But enough with my words of love – I'll have more time on that once I arrive to Florence. You must have questions on what happened and why Usui still remembers you._

_Well, it wasn't a surprise for me. Before you pierced in the dagger, you shed some tears and blood while singing. The song didn't cause this miracle to happen, your tears and blood did. They went inside Usui's ghostly flesh together with the dagger, causing some sort of spiritual reaction. It really is a complex thing, so I won't explain you how it works. Basically, it cancels out the memory loss that Usui was supposed to have. I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you this, but I forgot. I tried calling out to you after you sang, but I was too late. You pierced in the dagger and Usui's body shimmered and vanished in the night. And I tried telling you afterwards, but you fainted and I needed to carry you back to your home, which is where I'm writing this now._

_I am hiding this in a place that I'm sure would hide it from you until Monday, to ensure you would find this by the end of Monday, and only by the end of Monday. Or else I would sound like a total psycho, now wouldn't I?_

_I'm sorry that I won't be able to give you a proper goodbye, but I guess this is the best. I entered your life by bringing you back from the streets, now I'm going to leave your life by bringing you back from the cemetery. I guess this is how fate had planned us all along._

_I guess this is it. Goodbye, Misaki. Goodbye my first love._

_With respect and honor, I thank you for everything that you did that opened my heart for the first time,_

_Ankoku."_

My fingers traced the cursive signature in the bottom of the page, feeling like a piece of me had gone missing for good.

I didn't know what I was so sad about. After all, I hadn't returned Ankoku's feelings. I suppose it was the feeling of losing a friend with whom you have shared many important events with.

But I was happy for him. Although I hadn't intentionally 'opened' his heart, I was glad that he was in a mission to search his partner in life. And in Florence, too. That surely is a romantic place to be with the girl of your dreams, isn't it?

I took the envelope of the letter, a small, cream-colored square envelope with my name written in cursive written on it, and dug out the rest of the contents.

A plastic, seashell pin. I remembered wearing it in the grand party Ankoku had forced me to go to. It was an iridescent mix of blue, cream and pink. Like a pearl, I suppose. I placed it inside the drawer of my bedside table, for memory.

A photo of Ankoku. God, even I couldn't deny that he was attractive. With his fair olive skin and dirty blond hair, he was more than eye-catching. And those light blue eyes and dazzling white teeth only added fuel to the fire. Behind the picture was a post-it paper. It read, "Because leaving without a photo of yourself is just too mainstream." I chuckled and decided to put it beside the seashell, in case I ever need a reminder as to how my ghost-resurrecting, unconscious-girls-saving friend looked like. After all, he was the one who brought Usui back to life. Well, he was the one who told me how to bring Usui back to life, anyway. I was the one who stabbed him with the dagger.

The last one was a small, leather book. I had no idea what it was, but I knew I saw it before… Only, when? I opened it and suddenly a wave of nausea hitting me.

It was the book that Ankoku showed me. The one with the exorcism diagram and everything on it.

I peeled off the post-it paper glued to the first page and read, "In case you have other ghost butts to kick. This book comes in handy."

I stuffed the book back to my drawer, thinking that I would never have a need for that, just in time for Usui to come in with a big bowl of noodle for us to share.

"Your mom called, she said that she has to delay her arrival until next week because there was a storm that wrecked most of the airport facilities. So, what have you been doing while I'm downstairs? I heard ruffling sounds," he asked while sitting down on my bed beside me.

"Oh, you know, reading Ankoku's goodbye letter," I replied, inhaling the sweet scent coming from the bowl. "He said he's going to Florence, to search for the girl of his dreams."

Usui's brows shot up, but he gave no response in return besides asking me to eat.

But our stomachs weren't asking to be fed, our lack-of-romantic-moments were.

So Usui settled down the bowl on my bedside table beside Ankoku's letter, and crashed his lips against mine with enough passion that it made me kiss him back even more.

And I was just glad that mom and Suzuna decided to stay a little longer, because Usui and I moved a lot in our make-out session on my bed, made a lot of weird sounds, and that could be a _little_ misleading for some people.

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><p><strong>Just in mood for a lot of fluffy scenes these days. LOL.<strong>

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><p><strong>-Acknowledgement-<strong>

**Hey, since I don't want to write another chapter for my acknowledgement, I decided that it would be wiser to join it with the epilogue.**

**This story has been a really exciting project, as all my stories had been for me. I believe my writing has improved, but there are still a whole lot that I need to improve on. And I just wanted to thank anyone who had been there to encourage me to keep going. After all, where would I be if no one had done so, right?**

**[Rewind. Okay, I just realized how boring I sound. So yeah, let me redo it.]**

**So, writing this story was a _heck_ of a ride. I broke my curfew – yeah, I'm a rule breaker, lol – just to finish writing chapters and all I can say is, I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING DAILY UNTIL THE VERY LAST CHAPTERS!**

**Please understand that I've got a lot of work to do before – right now, Student Council isn't working on anything in particular that needs extra work – and therefore, my free time was really short, if I even had any on some days.**

**I'm sorry if the story didn't meet your satisfaction, but I tried my best to make it an enjoyable read.**

**And I want to thank people who have supported me, either from the start of this story or even from the start of my very first story! I really love you guys.**

**So yeah. I know, I sound awfully boring. I just can't help it, you know? You guys deserve a polite thank you for reading this. And while a fun thank you isn't necessarily impolite, I just can't write it that way.**

**Oh, and another thing. I will be posting up a new story (I know, fast, eh?). But it will be delayed for a day or two, for there has been a change in plot. This is the disadvantage for writing on FF, huh, not being able to edit chapter one, since you already uploaded it?**

**Well, that's all. Once again, I'm sorry for any wrong doings on my part and thank you for supporting me! I hope you will be there again in my next story! (Will probably update another chapter in this story to inform when my next story is up.)**

**With best honor and love,**

**-Your authoress.**

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><p><strong>I guess this is goodbye, then...<strong>

**See you soon. Love you. Always did, always will.**


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